THE "CON DEIR" TOKEN
COLLECTORS JOURNAL
THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE "CONDER" TOKEN COLLECTORS CLUB.
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Middlesex D&H #217 Middlesex D&H #20 Middlesex D&H #232
(The above illustrations were copied from Dalton & Hamer's Plates, the original edition, Part IV, 1912).
VOLUME III NUMBER 4 DECEMBER 15, 1998 CONSECUTIVE ISSUE #10
COPYRIGHT, 1998 BY THE "CONDER” TOKEN COLLECTORS CLUB. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © @ ™
WAYNE ANDERSON, PRESIDENT & EDITOR, PO BOX 1853, MAPLE GROVE, MN 55311-6853
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction Wayne Anderson --------------------------------- Page 4
Articles
VISIT TO LONDON - 1998 Richard Bartlett ---------------------------------- Page 6
Token Tales R. C. Bell ------------------------------------- Page 13
DANIEL ECCLESTON - Dr. Richard G. Doty ------------------------------ Page 16
Bathing Machines & Beach Boats - David S. Brooke -------------------------------- Page 24
Paine or Pain? Jinr Wahlen 2 252s eee Page 28
IRONBRIDGE GORGE John Weibel ----------------------------------- Page 32
"MINT RED" . Bt e SECS Ge ea ee Page 37
THE BOBBE COLLECTION Allen Bennett ----------------------------------- Page 38
Collector's Cabinet David S. Brooke ---------------------------------- Page 49
The "Bridge" Tokens Tom Fredette ------------------------------------ Page 50
Soho Mint Die Technology David Vice --------------------------=---------- Page 52
Wayte Raymond's Ad - Dec., '37 | Mike Grogan ------------------------------------- Page 55
NOTICE TO ALL / The Peifer Family --------------------------------- Page 56
Ex Libris Harold Welch ------------------------------------ Page 57
New Members - Locus Report - eeeeta ens <oi ees aonnn ao ------ === --- === === ---- Page 58
The Token Exchange And Mart Advertisements ------------------ —---------- Pages 2 & 3
& intermation. ————-=-=-=-=---=-=-- === — & 59 - 70
The Token Examiner
CHEAPSIDE
Tokens "ex Noble" designated by bold type.
BUCKINGHAM 23 - WM; Unc, obv tin pest
on rim at 9:30 & 3:00 $59
~ CHESHIRE 31 - Nice EF $16
... 35 - Nice AU $25
.. 72b - EF/AU, tiny obv scratch $25
ESSEX 10 - St. I; Unc $35
... 10 - St. I; AU, obv spot $19
HAMPSHIRE 46 - Nice AU $79
... 49 - AU, usual heavily rusted obv $95
... 60a - VF $12
... 89=AU/Une, traces ofred $25
KENT 3-R & B Unc $79
... 28 - Dark EF $16
... 31 - Une $79
... 35a - EF $12
LANCASHIRE 58 - EF $19
... 58 - Nice R & B Unc, obv edge dent $55
.. 67 = Nice AU $25
... 126 - Choice VF, rev die flaw $29
MIDDLESEX 39 - with date; EF $19
... 71 - Nice P-L Unc, tiny obv pit $65
... 132 - AU/Unce, flan flaw m center $79
.. 177 - Gilt; Nice AU/Unc $95
_.. 207 = WM: Grey VF $29
... 216 - P-L Unc, bronzed, obv scratches $59
... 257a- AU $17
.. 296 - VE/EF $12
... 336b - EF $35
... 345 - Unc, 3 small flan flaws $29
... 428 - Fine , $29
... 468 - Nice Sharp AU/Une, traces of red 349
... 473 - Choice Unc , tiny clip $45
... 523b - AU/Unc $59
... 366 - Nice Unc $55
...567-Unc, bronzed, obvrimcud —>-- $49
... 592a - P-L Unc, minor striking flaw $59
... 595 - Nice Dark Unc $42
... 615 Nice P-L Unc $42
SPENCE SPECIALS
$29 each - VF:
Middlesex 686a, 704, 727, 733, 804c, 871
$39 each - EF or better:
Middlesex 686c, 717,
725, 735, 804c, 868, 898, 899
WALKIN' IN A
DISCOUNT WONDERLAND
(was) $SCheap Bargain Price
701 - P-L Une, flan impurity (69) $49
701 -Nice R & B Une, flan impurity (110) $79
715 -R & B Une, rev spot (59) $45
716 - AU, flan crack (59) $49
724 - P-L AU, sl weak centers (69) $59
729b - AU, bronzed, 2 tiny clips (79) $59
730 - EF, rev spot (65) $49
731 - Nice Unc, bronzed, scratch (110) $79
767 - Nice Unc, Fox face weak (110) $79
768 - Nice Unc, Fox forehead weak (110) $79
710 - Choice Sharp Unc, obv scrape (149) $110
T712 - Choice Mostly Red Unc, sl weak centers
& tiny clip (195) $139
7T72a - Near Gem Mostly Red Unc, thin arc-
shaped scratch on Fox (195) $139
716-ChR &B Unc, 2 rev edge bumps
(149) $119
778 - Ch Une, tiny clip, flan crack (159) $129
790b - EF, weak centers (69) $59
790b - Sharp AU/Unc, bronzed, jowl flan flaw
& light rev spots (89) $69
790b - Ch R & B Unc, weak centers (139) $95
803a-ChR&B Unc, thin scratch (149) $110
803c - AU/Unc, light obv scratch (59) $49
821 - Nice Unc, flan crack, obv museum #
(110) $89
822 - AU/Unc, bronzed, flan crack (69) $59
831a- AU, light hairlines (95) $85
833a - VE/EF, rev stain (79) $65
852 - Unc, light stains (89) $75
853 - Sharp Unc, bronzed, rev museum # &
drips of spilled ink (69) $59
855a - VF, tiny edge nicks (49) $39
Dashing through the snow
to sleigh you with cheap bargains!
855a - AU, rev spots (85) $69
866 - Red P-L AU, cleaned (69) $49
866 - Nice Sharp P-L Unc, rev scratch (89) $69
866 - Ch P-L Une, tiny rev nick (149) $110
866a - Ch R & B Unc, obv neck spot (229) $149
866a - WM; Unc, dent (149) $95
866a - WM; Unc, smaller dent (179) $129
868 - Nice Unc, bronzed, weak centers (95) $75
869 -Ch P-L Unc, obv flan flaw (149) $119
871 -R &B Unc, obv spot (69) $49
871 - Nice Colorful P-L Unc, flan impurity
(119) $89
876 - Nice Unc, 2 rev spots (59) $49
895 - Ch Mostly Red Unc, small obv scrape at
9:00, a few light spots (129) $95
... 953 - Nice Unc $29
... 996a - Unc, lacquered, small spot $95
... 998 - Nice Unc, light obv edge dent $59
... 1002 - EF, typical weak centers $59
.. 1038a - AU/Unc, rev flan streak $95
NORTHUMBERLAND 8 - Ch Unc, spot $85
SOMERSETSHIRE 36c-Nice AU/Unc $25
...40-R & B Une, sl weak centers $25
.:. 50 - Nice AU $22
... 65 - Sharp AU $29
SUFFOLK 10 - Proof, cleaned $95
WARWICK 120 - Unc, bronzed, rim flaw $49
... 181 - Brass; Proof, cleaned $49
YORKSHIRE 57 - EF $35
... 69 - AU, cleaned & retoned $75
ANGLESEY 252c - EF, lacquered $69
DUBLIN 244 - EF, silvered $59
WICKLOW 8-Nice Mostly Red Unc $59
.. 72-Ch R&B Unc, rusted dies, light rev
spot $59
Happy Holidays!
Peace & Plenty
in the New Year!
Tokens may be sent on approval with suitable references. 14 day return privileges. Orders under $50 please add $5 shipping and handling.
5% discount on orders of $500 or more. 10% discount on orders of $1000 or more. Phone orders accepted 9am - I lpm PST.
Jerry & Sharon Bobbe
POB 25817
Portland, OR 97298
Phone (503) 626-1075
FAX (503) 350-2320
PAL FLANAGAN
WANTS
YOU!
WANT YOU TO RECEIVE MY LATEST LIST!
A VERY LARGE AND COMPREHENSIVE LIST,
T CALL ME AT 1-8300-613-837531,
OR DROP A NOTE TO;
PHIL FLANAGAN
PQ BOX 1288,
COUPEVILLE, WA 98239
1
FOR
JUS
WANTS LISTS ACTIVELY WORKED
FAX: 360-240-8360 E-Mail: flan @whidbey.net
INTRODUCTION
This issue of our journal will (I'm sure) be received well by all members. Articles sub-
mitted by you get better and better, and our journal becomes more and more charming and
interesting as time goes on. Richard Bartlett has written an exceptional article for this is-
sue describing his recent adventures in England. Richard has also written a cover letter to
me (also published herein), which I see as a reminder to us that we are not all profes-
sional numismatists - and that many of us write for the journal for fun, and to share our
experiences (and what knowledge we have) with the membership. Thank you Richard,
your efforts are always truly appreciated! Other members who are making significant con-
tributions to this issue of the journal are, of course, the always dependable Dr. Richard G.
(Dick) Doty, David S. Brooke, and R. C. Bell. I continually hear complimentary com-
ments about their articles. Jim Wahl returns, after a brief respite, with an extremely fine
article about Thomas Paine, Tom Fredette writes about "Bridge Tokens" (an extremely
worthy article), and David Vice discusses Soho Mint die technology. There are some first
time contributors as well. Exceptional articles have been submitted by Allen Bennett, and
John Weibel. Both of these gentlemen have put much time and effort into their respective
articles, and I congratulate and thank them. Bill Seese has also submitted his first article,
it's brief, to the point, and very interesting. Mike Grogan sends me interesting little tid-
bits from time to time, I have published his most recent find in this issue. I hope I have-
n't missed anything or anyone, this is a great edition!
"Coin World" has been giving each and every one of our journals rave reviews. Our
thanks to these folks for recognizing our efforts. If you do not subscribe to "Coin World",
I would like to (once again) recommend that you do so! It is a class publication, they're
our kind of people, and they've published a number of good "Conder" token related arti-
cles recently! Many members have joined as a result of reading their reviews and articles.
John Whitmore, our recently appointed representative in the United Kingdom, has been
very busy. Recently, he solicited seven (7) new members for the club from the UK, in-
cluding our first two members from Scotland. Our thanks and congratulations to him, and
a warm welcome to all of these new members!
Members Phil Flanagan and Cliff Fellage are working diligently on their respective
projects, pursuant to motions passed by the membership at our first annual meeting. They
have coordinated their efforts, and Phil has designed a club medallion which we shall dis-
tribute to the membership free of charge. He will also have a aumber of special medal-
lions struck in silver, which we shall offer for sale to club members. We wish to thank
those of you who gave input for the design features of the medallion. Cliff is designing a
permanent membership card, which members will surely be proud to carry to coin shows,
and conventions. Stay tuned for the details!
Obituary: I regret to inform you that we have lost one of our charter members. Mr.
Donald L. Peifer, CTCC #36, of Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on August 25th,
1998. His daughter, Donna, told me that "the 'Conder' was dear to Peifer's heart", and she
has asked me to place a "special" notice in this issue to mark his passing. His family has
made a generous donation to the club, and has decided to continue Mr. Peifer's member-
ship in his honour. On behalf of the club, I extend our deepest sympathy to his family and
friends.
My sincere thanks to all members who have seat me articles for publication during the
past year. It makes my job so much easier when I don't have to worry about what it is
that I'm going to publish in the next journal. Please keep them coming! I also wish to
thank all of our advertisers for their strong participation this past year. Many wonderful
catalogues and fixed price lists have been offered through our journal. I personally obtain
a copy of every one of them. They are the essentials of a good numismatic library, and
with them one is able to do one's own research. One can form one's own opinion as to
value and pricing, and determine what is and what isn't frequently offered for sale. In my
opinion, if you're not getting all of them, you are not soaking up all of the information
available to you. One doesn't always need to buy tokens, but one always needs to learn.
ON THE COVER - Middlesex, D&H #217. On the obverse: "R. B. SHERIDAN, ESQ.
M. P." (his likeness), and on the reverse: "RESISTLESS WIT WHOSE POINTED DART
PIERCES CORRUPTIONS DASTARD HEART". In 1775, the Rt. Hon. Richard Brinsley
Butler Sheridan, M. P. (Member of Parliament) produced (at Covent Garden) his first
comedy, “The Rivals", in which he introduced Mrs. Malaprop to the stage. In this com-
edy, Mrs. Malaprop was a character noted for her misuse of words, and thus the origin of
the words "malaprop" and "“malapropism". In the last issue of the journal, on page four-
teen (14), paragraph three (3), in lines twelve (12) through fourteen (14), you will find a
classic "malapropism": "In fact I can remember prior to the evening meal mounting three
large Scottish farting lots on the Saturday evening at a guest house in northern Victoria on
our way to Melbourne for viewing". This is very embarrassing, but I shall ask if you
would care to cross out the word "farting", in your copy of the journal, and write the word
"farthing" above it. My explanation for this error is that I retyped the article because Mr.
Jim Noble had faxed it to me, and fax copy doesn't reprint very clearly. I assure you,
however, that Mr. Noble used the correct word in his text, and the "malaprop" was all
mine. I proof read the article a number of times, and I swear that I saw the word "far-
thing" each and every time. My word processor has a spell check system, but since the
"misused" word ("farting") was spelled correctly my word processor (obviously loaded
with “resistless wit") felt the need to - "let ‘er rip"! I did not offer an apology for the pos-
sibility of such an error - I do so now - forgive me for my "malapropos” use of this “cor-
ruption".
The next token illustrated is Middlesex, D&H #208. On the obverse: "THOMAS
PAINE" (his likeness), and on the reverse: "THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR.” Ex: 1793.
Jim Wahl writes about Thomas Paine in this issue, and explains this particular token.
Thomas Paine was extremely courageous, and he is included among America's most im-
portant historical figures. How important was Paine? President John Adams put it in poetic
verse: "Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in
vain." Paine saw America as the land of liberty - because it was a land of low taxes. He
supported this thesis with a comparison of British vs. American taxes (about 1792):
England America
For a family of 5............ £14 17 6 <i 5 @
For a family of 6........-..-.- 17 17 O 1 10 O
For a family of 7.........-... 20 16 6 1 15 0
He described himself as champion of those "on whom the real burdens of taxes fall." He
had a negative view of government. So much so, he said, that when the people believe
that government is "some mysterious and wonderful thing, excessive revenues are ob-
tained." But to Paine, "When a government is just, taxes are few." His most famous pam-
phlet, "Common Sense" (1776), began: "Government even in its best state is but a neces-
sary evil, in its worst state it is an intolerable one.” His dominant theme was that taxes
produce tyranny. Revolution was necessary, said Paine, to bring about a government "less
expensive and more productive,” which would produce an era of "peace, civilization, and
commerce." In short, when a government is just, "taxes are few"; and "the enormous ex-
pense of government has provoked men to think.” He observed that there are two classes
of citizens, "those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes. When taxa-
tion 1s carried to excess it cannot fail to disunite those two.” Paine saw high taxation in
European nations, unlike America, as a great evil, which he described in "The Rights of
Man" (1791) as "The greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and.
crevice of industry . . . [which] watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape
without tribute.” I have been wondering lately - ts it possible that Thomas Paine's ideas
are as alive and compelling today as they were over two hundred years ago?
The last token illustrated on the cover is Middlesex, D&H #232. On the obverse: A
Lion and Lamb lying down together, UNANIMITY TO ALL MANKIND, and on the re-
verse: A Dove with olive branch beneath, PEACE AND PLENTY, Ex: 1797. Waters and
Bell knew nothing about this token, except that it is extremely rare! I see its design as the
perfect wish for all of you this holiday season. I send Season's Greetings and best wishes
for a Happy and Prosperous New Year with this 10t4 consecutive issue of our journal. WA
Wayne Anderson Richard Bartlett
Post Office Box 1853 P.O. Box 260852
Maple Grove, MN Lakewood, Colorado
55311-6853 80226
November 3, 1998
Dear Wayne;
Here is an article for the next "Conder" Token Collectors Journal - a travel one! I think this
one should supersede the John Palmer one I sent you earlier because of its timeliness. The visit
to London was in late September this year and the article answers the current letter you
published by Colin Hawker, "Lunar Society; A Petulance" in the last Journal.
My intention, other than besides my love of England, in writing this article is to be a little more
personal so people may know more about me and understand where these articles are coming
from. A need for this became apparent with Colin’s letter about the Lunar Society. I
encourage and hope people will write if they discover any errors in my articles so mistakes can
be corrected, and I promise not to be offended. My decision to be engrossed in the full history
of these thirteen years of the tokens only started after meeting the Bobbes’ several years ago.
I realized it would be impossible to compete on the technical aspects of the tokens. The general
background concerning the tokens had been excellently covered by R.C. Bell in his fabulous six
books. (I am continually finding out daily how extensively Bell worked on these tokens.) This
then left for me only the lives and events distantly related to the tokens, but I am constantly
searching for less apparent and less realized connections. As I learn more about the times, and
I try to learn something every day, the characters and events become increasingly fascinating.
Thank you for switching the order of the articles. Now you already have one for the spring
issue!
Yours always,
Dick Bartlett
Mid #893 Mid #421
Spence Pidcock
VISIT TO LONDON - 1998
Oh...to be able to visit London once a year! There is so much history relating to our
beloved tokens in London. First I must explain, I live in Denver, Colorado and my interest
in the British Provincial Tokens is specifically in their historical perspective. The thought
that Edward Jenner - not found on the tokens - may have handled one of the tokens in my
collection excites me. There are tens of thousands of individuals who are recorded to have
lived in these times, any one of whose finger prints could have been on one of my tokens.
Edward Jenner (1749-1832) was the country doctor who discovered the vaccine for small-
pox. In other words, I wish to learn all about the thirteen years between 1787 and 1800 and
which incidently corresponds to our nineties decade of today. It so happens British Airways
just initiated non-stop air service from Denver to London the first of September, 1998. As
a promotional stunt they offered some fantastic air fares of which my wife, Ann and I luckily
obtained them - ($99. one way, not including tax!) It therefore seemed an ideal opportunity
to purchase historical books on my favorite subject.
I had just turned off High Holborn Street, down a narrow pedestrian alleyway, on my
way to the Hunter Collection in the Royal College of Surgeons when I looked up at the
street sign to see "Little Turnstile" and realized this was near Thomas Spence’s old home
(Mid.#893.) I also discovered later there is a "Great Turnstile" alley further up High
Holborn Street. Why visit the Hunter Collection? It is an infrequently visited, medical
specimen collection of preserved pathological human and animal parts in glass jars. Sounds
great..ugh! Well, I wanted to see John Hunter’s preserved skeleton specimen of an eight
foot man. You see, John Hunter was the much younger brother of William Hunter M.D.
by about ten years. William was an avid medical specimen collector, and John was sent to
him to become a surgeon. John also became a specimen collector in his own right, and
when William died John was able to combine the two collections - the greatest collection
compiled for the late Eighteenth Century. At one point, John heard about an eight foot
"giant" who was dying of consumption, and he wanted to be able to examine his cadaver.
The giant, not surprisingly for those days, did not like the idea of being dissected even after
death and made plans to be dumped into the Thames. Dr. Hunter planned to bribe his
friends who were to dispose of his body, but when he got to the tavern for the negotiations,
he discovered they wanted more money than he had brought with him. In the end he
borrowed money from Pidcock, (Mid.#421) of the menagerie show fame, who had
accompanied him. I assume Hunter was in the habit of obtaining bodies of exotic animals
from Pidcock after they died in the menagerie. In any case, with the extra money he was
able to obtain the giant’s body. It is interesting to note there were two unrelated Pidcocks
who ran the menagerie at one time or other. I found it impressive to stand there and have
the skeleton in its case tower over me. There are other interesting things to see in the
Hunter Collection including contemporary surgical instruments, old microscopes, unusual
pathological specimens and especially those deformities of the bones which are easy to
preserve for over 200 hundred years. One can also travel to Scotland and look up the
Hunter house in East Kilbride, the brothers home town, which is a museum now telling the
story of both of the Hunter brothers. But why should Americans be interested in British
historical people? While I was at the Hunter Collection I was able to learn the "American
Father of Surgeons", Philip Physick, M.D.(in 1792), (1768-1837) was trained by John Hunter,
(1728-1793) in anatomy.
There are lots of remnants of our token decade to be found in London such as streets
with names of people of this decade or many churches found on the Skidmore and Kempson
collectors tokens. (They don’t tear down sacred houses of worship - they just fade away!)
My first suggestion for a visitor to London is to go to St. Paul’s Cathedral (Mid # 39) and
climb the stairs to the top for a spectacular view of the city. Up there you can try to
imagine the city of the 1790’s. You will see several of the church spires - if you know where
to look - of the older still existent 1790’s churches. I next suggest you obtain a good city
map and a cheap London guide. The map is absolutely necessary for walking about and the
guide may be of some help in locating old structures. If you are inclined to make extensive
walks try the "Wall Walk.” This walk follows the remains of the old City of London’s
medieval wall (not much is left now.) What you will soon realize is the Skidmore gates
where originally in this wall. There are signs indicating where they where, or you can figure
Mid #78 Mid #43 Mid #80
Ludgate Mansion House Newgate
it out by the street intersections. None of the gates as we know them from the tokens exist
any longer since larger carriages, and now automobiles, got too large for the gates, and they
were torn down. However, you may pass by some of the old Skidmore churches on the way.
It is interesting to note, according to the Skidmore gate tokens themselves, nearly all were
torn down in 1766 (Mid #73 - 79). Why in this year, is the question. Also note, Newgate
was burned down in the Gordon riots of 1780. Why was this one not taken down in 1766?
If you are a military history buff, you might want to visit the National Army Museum. It is
a much smaller version of the better known Imperial War Museum and may be more
specific to the 1793-1815 years. You take the underground to Sloane Square Station, walk
down Lower Sloane Street past the Duke of York’s Headquarters. After turning west onto
Royal Hospital Road you will pass Chelsea Royal Hospital (Mid.#50) to get to the museum.
There is a small tank in front of it. The Duke of York’s H.Q. was originally built as a
school for the children of soldier’s widows in 1801. Unfortunately we missed the Mansion
House (Mid.# 43) On one of our underground rides while we were on the Circle Line we
came to the Mansion House station, and this then reminded me I had recently bought that
token. Mansion House is the residence of the Lord Mayor of London and was built by
George Dance (1739-52), the father of Paul and Nathaniel Dance (1734-1811), well known
artists of the 1790’s. The Lord Mayor’s term of office is one year and each year there is an
interesting Lord Mayor’s Parade which passes this Palladian structure.
Talking about artists reminds me of George Romney’s (1734-1802) painting of Emma
Hamilton at the Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich. We got there this time by riding
the underground and then by walking under the river Thames! We went there to see the
Lord Nelson exhibition and to buy books on "wooden walls" (sailing warships.) The
exhibition is full of great information, and the early painting of Emma is probable one of
the best of her. The National Portrait Gallery is a must if you are interested in the times
of the tokens in order to see the characters of that decade. Many of them are there -
portraits made at the time they were alive - such as the red faced John Wilkinson (1728-
1808 & Warw.# 332.) The gallery for the late 18th Century is on the top floor (rooms 11
through 15), and one can not only learn about the people of the portraits but of the
contemporary artists who painted them. Such artists as John Hoppner (1758-1810), Gilbert
Stuart (American 1755-1828) or the famous Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792.) Aliso such
sculptors as Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) and the later Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841)
who did several busts in the gallery. There are even portraits of contemporary portrait
painters there! In one corner are some members of the Lunar Society including the chubby
Erasmus Darwin, bright faced Matthew Boulton and the pensive James Watt. Most of these
portraits are very well done and life-like so one can really feel you are meeting them face
to face. Wedgwood and Joseph Black are in the next corner also represented by cameos.
I was disappointed that a portrait of John Howard didn’t seem to be available. But I was
very surprised to read in the label under Mrs. Fitzherbert (1756-1837) that they admitted
she was married to the Prince of Wales. Some scholars will not concede of the marriage
for lack of such physical evidence as a marriage license although one was supposedly seen.
Also, George III must be turning over in his grave since there was a picture, albeit a small
one, of Thamas Paine in this royal gallery. Paine was an anathema to all of England from
1791-92 and afterwards with the publishing of his Rights of Man. Even though she died in
1767 and is not in the token decade, I must mention that there is a portrait of the very
famous Kitty Fisher, a courtesan of an earlier time. This kind of prostitute reach their peak
in fame and notoriety in the last two decades of the 18th Century. What is even more
precious to me was being able to view several of James Gillray’s (1756-1815) original
political cartoons. One such Gillray cartoon was "The Political Banditti" in pristine.
condition and original coloring. Seeing the pint in its original, approximate 9 x 12, format
one can appreciate its craftsmanship and satirical humor best. Many of the portraits are the
ones often found in the various publications. But here, most often they are of life-size and
in accurate full color so that there is no substitution for seeing the originals. It must be
noted that I can not mention all of the portraits in the five rooms in this short article so you
will just have to go see them for yourself.
10
Some of these wealthier aristocrats portrayed in the National Portrait Gallery at one
time lived in the Mayfair district of London near Hyde Park around the time of the 1790’s.
Two such men who lived there in their younger days were Charles James Fox and William
Douglas ("Old Q") in sumptuous dwellings. It is hard to conceive of it now but the Mayfair
area was "the suburbs" of London with a pleasant countryside view during the token decade.
It might be an interesting project to plot out on a map where each of them lived. On the
other hand, we may remember Samuel Johnson for most of his life he was not so wealthy,
and we find his home in the less fancy Holborn area several streets north of Fleet Street.
It is now a museum and worth visiting to get a clear feeling for the times. I must admit a
visit to his home is on my list for the next trip as we ran out of time on this stay. Naturally
we had to have a night out at the London theaters, and our play - a ghost mystery - was held
across the street from the Drury Lane Theater. After dinner, we walked past Covent
Gardens, along Russell Street and by the Drury Lane, which by the way is a huge theater.
There were four such named theaters on this historical site. David Garrick acted and
managed some of the earlier ones, later became a part owner of the second one. He also
was very much responsible for having one of the Drury Lanes built. But when he retired
in 1776 his theater manager, Richard Brinsley Sheridan took over as owner and had the
third theater rebuilt (or at least refurbished) in 1794 (Mid. #82.) Then in 1809 the theater
of the token burns down, only to add to Sheridan’s woes, since by now he is a broken man
and has lost his seat in parliament. The last and present Drury Lane theater was built in
1812 and currently performs plays being still the oldest active theater in London. By 1812,
Richard Sheridan is in unrecoverable debt and a hopeless drunkard and takes no part in the
new Drury Lane. It boggles my mind to think the present building is the same one as built
in 1812, and one wonders how much it has been restored. Next time in London we shall
visit inside the theater. Well, after our play was out, it becomes beer imbibing time. The
first pub, on the corner across from Drury Lane was named after a token decade nobleman
whose name I can’t recall at the time of this writing. But the second pub, at the corner of
Bow Street and Long Acre, a few blocks away, was called the John Philip Kemble Pub. The
Kembles were a long time family of actors which was not uncommon in those days. John
P. Kemble’s older sister is better known as Sarah Siddons (1755-1831), a great tragic actress
and considered by some to be the best ever. Her youngest brother, Charles didn’t reach
his peak until the early 19th Century and never could out perform the reputations of his
sister and older brother. John Philip Kemble was the most famous male actor of the 1790’s
before Edmund Kean (1787?-1833) superseded him and since Garrick had retired and
passed away. Later in Kemble’s career he became the manager of Drury Lane under
Sheridan.
Another site we failed to visit - we really only had five full days in London - was to the
British Museum to see their British Provisional Token collection. But after seeing Jerry &
Sharon’s Conder collection in Portland this last August who needs to see another! Instead
we - mostly myself - spent hours going through used book stores looking for unusual
biographies of token decade characters likely only to be found in England. I found a few.
In total, I brought back twenty volumes one of which is a particular gem to me and which
you may hear about sometime later. However, the only two IJ will mention here are one on
Erasmus Darwin (published in the USA!) and one on Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Darwin, the
grandfather of Charles Darwin, a member of the Lunar Society is a favorite of mine. And
I stand corrected that they did speak among themselves as the Lunar Society. It must be
mentioned here, I should speak of myself only as an amateur historian for I do no original
research. I have not yet been to Birmingham, the closest was Coventry and Warwick in
1991. Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798) was born to Irish aristocracy and in his short life (35)
had many adventures. Two major crises, with no mention by the tokens, which occurred in
the 1790’s were the naval mutinies and the [rish Rebellion. Edward Fitzgerald was
Erasmus Darwin Arrest of Lord Edward
prominent in the latter event and in fact lost his life because of it. In obtaining this book
by one of my favorite authors, Stella Tillyard, I discovered an additional extension to the
tangled love story of Elizabeth Lindley and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, later his wife, which
involved Lord Edward. I can’t wait to get to that part. Soon I will know more about him
for by the time of this printing I will have then finished this publication. Erasmus Darwin,
(1731-1802), is one of my favorite characters because he was so unconventional and clearly
someone with an un-quenchable thirst for knowledge. There are several books about him,
one of which I have already read. ‘This latest book appears to deal more with his poetry
and also repeats some of the more common antidotes about Darwin.
There is probably no end to what one can learn and see about the thirteen years of the
token period to be obtained in London. For example, though I don’t think it appeals to me,
one could seek out the grave sites of many of the most memorable characters for there is
sufficient documentation to do such a task. A much more interesting enterprise would be
to locate and visit, or photograph all the existent London churches illustrated on the
Skidmore or Kempson tokens, a subject I have only begun to undertake. One would think
many have been replaced, modified or extensively restored, and that in itself may be of
11
Vz
interest. My intention here has been to peak your interest to visit London or at least in
visiting England to empathize with the times of the tokens since they are so extensive and
intriguing. Naturally you would want to see the Tower of London (Mid #89) and the
Westminster Abbey (Mid #90) and other more well known sites. Yet there are hard to
locate and less well known places which may add just that tiny bit of information to give you
some mental hint of the times. London is a complex, crowded, busy city, but with abundant
transportation and there are many great restaurants and other sights to see. I sound like
a travel brochure. I think it is the challenge of the search for the obscure or hidden
museum which will relate to those times, two hundred years ago, that fascinates me. This
is why I say, "Oh...to be able to visit London once a year.”
Richard Bartlett CTCC #104
4 ON aT co ¢r,
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St.Paul’s Cathedral Chelsea Hospital
Mid #39 Mid #50
Westminister Abbey
Mid #90
London Tower
Mid #89
Drury Lane Theatre
| Mid #82
Token Tales
From Merrie Olde England
Christmas Eve Stagecoach
Journey In Early 1800's
Note: This story is based on remin-
iscences of C. T. S. Birch Reynardson:
“recorded in his “Down the Road’’ writ-
ten in 1874 when he was an old man,
but the incidents had occured in his
childhood in the early part of the 19th
century. R.C.B.
At five a.m. on December 24 two
sleepy English schoolboys felt their
way along the cloisters of Charterhouse
surrounding the square to the school
gate, and peered through the railings
and the darkness of a winter’s morning.
Within a minute or two a hackney
carriage, ordered the previous evening,
arrived to take them to the inn “George
and Blue Boar” in Holborn, starting
journey to Stamford and the north.
References are to Dalton and
Hamer’s “The Provincial Token-
Coinage of the 18th Century’? (D&H)
and to Davis’ “Nineteenth Century
Token Coinage” (Davis). IIlustra-
tions are 1% times normal size.
The fog made traveling slow; and
when the carriage reached the yard of
already ‘“‘put to.’? The top, the fore
and the hind boot of the coach were
piled high with luggage.
Within seconds of the schoolboys in
their heavy grey greatcoats taking their
places on the outside of the coach, it
left the yard and passed down Holborn
hill, up Cow lane, through Smithfield
and on to the ‘‘Peacock”’ at Islington.
On this part of the journey they met
droves of bullocks, sheep and pigs,
coming from Smithfield Market, to-
gether with all sorts of conveyances.
The steam from the horses mingled
with the breath of the cattle and sheep
By R. C. Bell
Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
into the murk of a London ‘‘pea-souper’’.
oint for the coach “Regent” on its’
i . h = the added sounds of coaches clattering
the inn the horses of the ‘‘Regent’’ were’
and added to the denseness of the fog.
Coupled with the dimness of the lamps
and the darkness of the morning, the
young travelers felt as if they were
passing through the inside of a vast
stewpan.
The ‘‘Peacock’’ at Islington was the.
first stage for all the coaches traveling
north, and as they came up through
the fog an old ostler carrying a horn
lantern called out their names: ‘‘York-
Highflier,”’ ‘‘Leeds Union,” ‘York Ex-
press,” “Rockingham,” ‘Stamford Re-
gent,”’ ‘Truth and Daylight’? and many
more.
When the ‘“Regent’’ arrived there
were about a dozen coaches in the
yard, all with their horses steaming,
and their different paintworks seen
dimly in the light of their lamps. Within
moments of the vacant places on each
coach being filled, the guard would
play the coach’s tune on his horn:
“Off she goes;’” “Oh dear, what can
the matter be?’ “When from Great
Londonderry;” ‘‘The flaxen - headed
ploughboy”’ ete.
Often several guards might be play-
ing different tunes at the same time and
in and out of the cobbled yard, horses
. heighing, passengers shouting farewells,
and servants struggling with luggage,
produced a cacaphony of sound that
could only be heard at a busy coaching
- inn at half-past six in the morning.
As the ‘Regent’? headed north and
began to climb out of the Thames valley
_the fog thinned and disappeared, but
behind them in the early morning light
the whole of London lay beneath a
thick white blanket. A little later the
Westminster schoolboy in college
dress is shown on the reverse of this
halfpenny token, D&H Middlesex 704.
13
14
-
be ; ‘
Sor Paty a ee
oe
‘ Suse
x
E ats ; See g tos a =a
po. a! 4 “A eAr™ my
5 Poss COA
er Cree
Obverse and reverse of a halfpenny
token issued by Ibberson, the proprietor
of the “George and Blue Boar’ in
Holborn, London. (D&H Middlesex 342)
sun broke through the cloud and as
the coach (twelve passengers outside, .
four within, the guard, the coachman
the villages, smoke was rising from
cottage chimneys in endless blue puffs,
with every now and then the smell of
burning pine, from little bundles of
kindling. :
Occasionally the aroma of an early
breakfast told of shopkeepers and
tradesmen who were also making an
early start to the day, and reminded
the scholars that they had only had
a hunk of bread, some drippings and
a bowl of coffee at four in the morning.
In the country the air was sharply
‘Stimulating; and the boys waved to
laborers as they walked to work, smok-
ing their pipes, while the odor of their
tobacco was carried on the light morn-
ing wind.
The first change was at Barnet, where
the coachman of the ‘‘Stamford Regent”’
chatted to George Carter, his opposite
number on the ‘York Express.’’ The
schoolboys slipped off the coach into
the bar to get a glass of rum-and-milk,
and to tease the pretty barmaid.
(Recipe for rum-and-milk. A tumbler
A cart loaded with bales of rope
from the Dundee Ropery features this
Scotch halfpenny token cut by Wright.
(D&H Angusshire 42)
j -of quite fresh milk, one fair lump of
sugar, two tablespoons of rum, and
a thought of nutmeg grated on top.)
Soon after leaving Barnet they passed
an old man driving a cart, and as the
coach went by he awakened out of a
deep sleep and pulled up sharply on
his reins, but as they were hanging
slack in the bottom of his cart, he
somersaulted backwards onto the road.
Apart from a slight cut on his head
he seemed unhurt, and the coach con-
.-tinued on its way.
and a mountain of luggage) passed by .
The wind began to blow very cold,
and within a little the coachman turned
to the youngsters and remarked that
there was snow in the air. Sure enough
within half an hour great white flakes
were falling and the outside passengers
pulled their hats down over their faces,
turned their collars up, wound their
wrappers about their necks more
tightly, and huddled together. Snow
was less trying than rain, when hats,
An ostler holds a horse with “Kelly’s
light harness,” which this halfpenny
token says is “sold cheap” at Kelly’s
manufactory in the Strand, London.
(D&H Middlesex 345)
coats, and wrappers became sodden
bits of cloth and the cold seemed to
reach to the bone.
At Biggleswade the coach stopped
20 minutes for dinner. By the time the
passengers had warmed their hands
in front of the large fire in the dining
room, were able to untie their neck-
wrappers and get out of their great-
icoats, half this precious time had
passed. The boys had eaten less than
a quarter of what they could have
managed had their cheeks been in
eating trim and their hands warm
enough to handle a knife and fork, when
the coachman, amid a chorus of groans,
announced: “‘‘Now, gentlemen, if you
please, the coach is ready.”
The travelers struggled back into
their greatcoats, bound their wrappers
round their throats, paid half-a-crown
for a meal that they had the will but
not the time to eat; and mounted their
seats again to sit out the weather
that lay ahead.
The snowfall ceased as suddenly as
it had begun, and a thin sun tried in
vain to melt the white covering on the
ground. As they passed Alconbury hill
more than a dozen forked-tail kytes
wheeled in the sky. Monck’s Wood was
famous for the large numbers of these
birds whose red tail feathers made
excellent wings for salmon-flies, and
in its neighborhood the kytes some-
times even sat in the middle of the
road. Today these birds are nearly
extinct in England.
Stilton, further along the Great North
road, was famous for its cheese. Miss
Obverse of a halfpenny token issued
by the proprietor of the “Swan with
Two Necks,” Lad lane, London, shows
a mail coach. (Davis Middlesex 64)
Cart loaded with barrels outside a
brewery “‘to cheer our hearts”, says
this Kent halfpenny token, D&H Kent 42.
Worthington, the hostess of the inn
there, used to go out to the coaches,
while the horses were being changed,
and holding a Stilton up on a tray,
would sell them to the passengers on
the coach: ‘Pray Sir, would you not
like a Stilton cheese?” :
One of the schoolboys left the coach
at Stilton and the other, feeling rather
small and very tired, faced the last
part of the journey alone. The wind
was blowing piercing cold, and the snow
had frozen hard on the ground. Above
the stars were shining like bright dia-
monds. As they neared their journey’s
end the guard began to play favorite
tunes on his keyed bugle.
They passed the last turnpike gate
at Whitewater, two miles from Stam-
ford which they reached a little before
nine p.m., where the small boy fell into
the waiting arms of his mother. As he
snuggled up against her in his father’s
warm buggy two thoughts filled his
tired mind: His first term was over,
and tomorrow was Christmas Day!
Turnpike gate is clearly portrayed on
this 1796 halfpenny token. Walcot was
a village on the outskirts of Bath, in
Somerset. (D&H Somerset 45)
The royal cypher GR (for George II)
may be noted on the door of this mail
coach on a London halfpenny token,
D&H Middlesex 363.
Where is the coach, where is the mail?
The coachman, where is he?
Where is the guard that used to blow
His horn so cheerily?
Where is the guard that used to wake
The still of the early morn,
And rouse the sleepy toll-bar man
With the sound of the ‘“‘old mail horn?”
No more the sleepy toll-bar man
Is roused at early dawn,
And turns reluctant out of bed
With the sound of the ‘‘old mail horn?’”’
No more in his nightshirt, as of old,
And his nightcap on his pate,
Does he hurry across the frozen road
To open the turnpike gate.
The mail, the horn, coachman, guard,
Are nowhere to be found;
The four bright bays that used to trot
Lie four feet under ground.
(This article was first published in World Coins, Volume 2, Issue No. 24, in December, 1965. We are reprinting the
article with Mr. Bell's permission. This article was prepared by Mr. Bell especially for the Christmas Holiday in De-
cember, 1965. We will resume his regular series with the March, 1999 issue of the "Conder" Token Collectors Journal).
DANIEL ECCLESTON
Visionary, loken-Issuer, Deadbeat
Thus far, all of my articles on Matthew Boulton’s provincial tokens have been based on a
single source, the Boulton Papers in the Birmingham Central Library. The present study will form
an exception: here, we have two archival sources, the usual collection of letters and fiscal documents
which we are accustomed to finding in the Boulton Papers, and a second cache in the Local History
Collection of the Lancaster Public Library. I visited this charming northern British city a decade ago
in search of materials on its eccentric native son, Daniel Eccleston. What I found will help me flesh
out the story of this gentleman, perhaps the most interesting of Boulton’s correspondents in the token
trade - and certainly the oddest.
You can learn a bit about him in R. C. Bell’s Commercial Coins, 1787-1804. You can learn
a great deal more in a useful monograph by Edith Tyson.’ She puts Eccleston’s date of birth as 1745,
although the exact month is not known. He died in March 1821. He was a Quaker although not a
particularly observant one: he was thrown out of the Society of Friends ‘on account of his total
neglect of attending their meetings’ - an attitude which Eccleston brought to most activities with
which he was connected. Like many of his more sober brethren, he was a merchant, trading with the
Caribbean islands of Antigua, Barbados, etc., and actually spending several years in that part of the~
world. He dealt in sugar and anything else which might turn a profit. After many adventures, he
returned to Great Britain, and to Lancaster.
There he became a liquor merchant, then an insurance broker. Eccleston
was of a speculative turn, and engaged in many visionary schemes, none of which
answered his expectations. ... Amongst others may be mentioned his scheme of a
carriage for crossing the Sands fof the Lune Estuary, above which Lancaster sits] at
high water, for which purpose he caused an immense pair of Wheels to be
constructed; he also invented cast-iron looms for weaving sail-cloth, some of which
'Mrs. Edith Tyson, F.M.A., 'Daniel Eccleston’ (‘A Lancaster Museum Monograph’);
undated typescript, 17 pp.
are yet to be seen in this town. ... In these pursuits he squandered most of his
property ...
In short, something of a dreamer. Eccleston was also something of a social gadfly, and he
occasionally ran afoul of the authorities. We must bear in mind that the decade of the 1790s, the
period which saw the production of most of the tokens in which we share an interest, was also a
period of deep political unrest, of social ferment, of constant worry about an invasion by the French -
and ofa regrettable but understandable knee-jerk reaction to the nonconformist. Eccleston qualified:
he harbored unusual opinions. He may have made an indifferent Quaker, but he was a splendidly
original freethinker, devout in his way. He wrote and published a tract called Reflections on
Religion: or, Freedom of Thinking, and Judging for Our-Selves, On Religious Subjects. No Atheism
in 1797; a copy survives in Lancaster. The title is explanatory of the contents, which manifest a
splendid tolerance for all religions, Christian or not. Two years previously, Eccleston had printed
and circulated a broadside pleading with George III to make peace with the revolutionary French;
a copy exists in the Boulton Papers, and a reduced version is illustrated elsewhere in this article.
| Such activities (and later ones, such as commissioning medals dedicated to Napoleon and George
Washington’), kept the authorities interested in Mr. Eccleston, as well as nibbling away at his
inheritance.
He was clapped in jail on at least one occasion. We find him there at the beginning of 1798,
but whether because of debts, conscience, or writings we cannot say. He took a most virulent dislike
to John Parke, who may have represented him and failed to keep him out of jail. Eccleston’s opinion
of this individual was rather appropriately referred to as a ‘tirade’ by the nameless archivist who
sorted his papers. It is worth quoting in full, for it gives us the flavor of the man:
If I should die in Prison,
*Lancaster Gazette, 21 December 1816 (an obituary notice for Daniel Eccleston, quoted
in Tyson, p. 16). The obituary was somewhat premature. :
*by Thomas Webb, a Birmingham medallist active between 1804 and 1827. It is
illustrated. The Napoleon medal was designed by John Gregory Hancock, Sr. and appeared in
1802; it appears to be very rare.
I publish to the World,
An Inhuman Monster,
In the Shape of a Man.
That Dirty, Lousy, Upstart,
Pettifogging Attorney.
Known by the Name of
John Parke.
As my Executioner.
And I do most Solemnly,
And Sincerely Declare,
From my Heart;
That I Deem it
A Species of Murder.
And I think He ought
To be Hanged for it.
Dan/ Eccleston
Lancaster Castle, January 1st 1798.*
Eccleston’s later years were spent in genteel and gently deepening poverty. His obituary
appeared in the Lancaster Gazette on 21 December 1816. A small but substantive inaccuracy had
crept in: Eccleston wasn’t dead, and would indeed live on for another four years. It is possible that
the Gazette erred. It is more likely that Eccleston planted his own death notice. It would have been
like him. And it also gave him the excuse (and, obviously, the capability) of penning the letter for
which he is most famous. | |
It appeared in the Lancaster Gazette precisely a week after the notice of his death. Robert
C. Bell alluded to it, but I take the liberty of transcribing the entire document, which most of my
readers have never seen. Its primary purpose (beyond the pulling of a good many legs), seems to
have been to set the record straight concerning Eccleston’s financial success, or its lack:
“Handwritten tirade, Eccleston Scrapbook Number Two (Local History Collection,
Lancaster City Library), p. 231
“And the Ladies cry, in doleful dumps,
“Daniel’s dead. What’s trumps?”
FRIEND MINSHULL’
I hope through the channels of thy next Lancaster Gazette, to have the privilege of
thanking thee for the pains thou hast taken in the obituary of thy last publication, in
sketching my character, though it is, in several instances, erroneous. Had ] been a
worldly minded man during my residence on that small speck of earth on which thou
still continues to exist, I had many opportunities of amassing a fortune, during my
residence in America and the West Indies, as well as in England, and might, long
before thou sent me across the river Styx, have been driving about amongst you in
my leathern vehicle, called a coach, but my visionary schemes, as thou calls them,
were not entered into solely with a view to profit. I might truly have said with St.
Paul, that I had known both how to want and how to abound; I could also have added,
that I never murmured, but was always content[{!] with every dispensation of
Providence. To the sketch thou hast drawn, I will, with thy leave, just add one
circumstance, viz. that I was two or three years in Virginia and the Northern
provinces of America; and on my returning from Montreal to Boston, sailed down
Lake Champlain and Lake George, in a birch bark canoe, with the king of the
Cohnawaga Nation, and five other Indians, and was eleven days twelve nights on the
lakes and in the woods with them. In Virginia, when at Alexandria, I had the
pleasure, and I may also add, the honour, of meeting with General Washington, who
gave me an invitation to call and spend a few days with him on his estate at Mount
Vernon
We are totally precluded from giving you poor mortals any description of this happy
country
“Hope humbly then, with trembling pinions soar,
“Wait the great teacher Death, and God adore,
“Know this, enough for man to know,
“That VIRTUE only makes your bliss below
“And all your knowledge is your self to know”
From my habitation in HEAVEN, the NEW JERUSALEM, the CITY OF THE
SAINTS’ SOLEMNITY, in which, through the infinite mercy of God, I hope to
obtain an inheritance.
DANIEL BELTESHAZZAR
FITZ-WILLIAM
CARACTICUS
CADWALLADOR :
LLEWELLYN
*Presumably the editor of the Lancaster Gazette.
19
20
AP-TUDOR
PLANTAGENET
ECCLESTON®
An eccentric to be sure, but one with a small but secure niche in numismatics, in the guise
of a halfpenny token struck by Matthew Boulton.
As with so many other of the latter’s affairs, we first encounter this one when it was already
under way. We first hear of the business in a letter from Eccleston to Boulton dated 10 July 1794.
From it, we glean several important bits of information. Eccleston names Noel-Alexandre Ponthon
as the designer of the intended Lancaster halfpenny. We would have known this from the treament
of Eccleston’s coat on the final product, for the rendition of fabric by a series of carefully-placed
parallel lines was something of a signature of this French designer; but it is agreeable to have written
confirmation.
The letter suggests that Ponthon must have been well along with the work by that time, and
that the Lancaster merchant was having second thoughts about the form his token was taking:
If Mr. Ponthon has not already proceeded too far with the Die, I cou’d wish the
Letters in Relief, like Mr. Wilkinsons [halfpenny] instead of being indented as the
Canada halfpenny is, and the Halfpenny to be 1 3/16 Inch Diameter.-- Have a
particular reason for wishing this alteration, from some information I’ve recvd in
London.-- Have taken some pains to procure you the Canada Arms, but have not yet
succeeded--’
This letter suggests that Boulton had initially persuaded Eccleston to adopt his latest coinage
innovation (letters indented rather than in relief, a design concept which he was about to employ on
coinage for Madras and would eventually introduce on his first copper coinage for Great Britain).
The letter also suggests that Eccleston was having second thoughts and wanted a more orthodox
approach taken on his token. But what did he mean by the ‘Canada Halfpenny’?
Eccleston was apparently referring to Boulton’s abortive project to strike halfpenny tokens
°Lancaster Gazette, 28 December 1816; reproduced in Tyson, p. 17.
"Matthew Boulton Papers [MBP]230, Letter Box E1, Daniel Eccleston to Matthew
Boulton, 10 July 1794.
for John Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper, or British, Canada. David Vice published a series
of definitive articles on the affair in Spink’s Numismatic Circular (Vol. 85, 1977). The project
ended with no practical effect; but the few patterns which were created had their letters sunk into the
surface of the metal rather than raised above it. And they are likely to have served as inspiration for
the final form assumed by the Eccleston token.
Boulton stacked the deck for his new idea. In his reply to the Lancaster merchant, he agreed
that Eccleston could certainly have his tokens with raised letters, although he was frankly at a loss
about ‘the motives which have determined you to prefer letters in relief as you have not mentioned
them’®. In any case, the die with incuse inscription had now been finished, and any alteration of the
type suggested would cost a considerable amount of money and cost a considerable amount of time,
because Soho would have to scrap the old die and engrave an entirely new one. What did Eccleston
want?
As it happened, what he did not want, and likely could not afford, was any additional expense
on a matter which was more of a whim than a life-or-death affair. He apparently agreed to let
matters stand, and Boulton struck him slightly more than a ton of halfpenny tokens in a few weeks’
time, sending them to him on 25 August 1794. I estimate the coinage at 109,247 business strikes,
and an unknown and likely unknowable number of proofs; this estimate is based on a weight of
forty-six pieces per pound, a figure borne out by the weights of observed specimens. Eccleston
supplied most of his own copper, another indication that the eccentric merchant had to watch his
pennies - and his halfpennies as well. Boulton charged him L.51.17.6 for coining, casks, paper and
string, and L.5.5.0 for Mr. Ponthon’s dies.
It had apparently been agreed that there would be two tons’ worth of Lancaster halfpennies,
rather than the ton of so which were struck in August. On 15 September, the Birmingham coiner
informed Eccleston that he was now ready ‘to give orders for what remains to complete the 2 ton of
Lancaster halfpence to be struck in relief, as you seem to prefer them executed in that manner’?
This leads us to a great rarity.
According to R. Dalton and S. H. Hamer, authors of The Provincial Token-Coinage of the
®MBP230, Matthew Boulton to Daniel Eccleston, 14 July 1794.
*>MBP230, Matthew Boulton to Daniel Eccleston, 15 September 1794; italics mine.
22
18th Century, there are two normal varieties of Eccleston halfpenny token, to which they assigned
numbers 57 and 58. Both feature legends sunk into raised borders, and the only difference between
the two is that the dies used for D&H 57 were lapped prior to striking D&H 58. But there is a third
Eccleston piece, D&H 56, and it is distinctly abnormal. It features relief rather than incuse lettering
and seems to offer visible proof that Boulton was indeed acting on Eccleston’s orders. There is just
one problem: this token is unique, the sole specimen reposing in the collection of Jerry and Sharon
Bobbe. Dalton and Hamer suggest that ‘the rare specimen [D&H 56] is from dies which were
hardened, but as the obverse die developed a number of fine cracks it was not hardened, hence the
marks on the “field’”’®. I doubt whether the cracks would have stopped Boulton from lapping and
using the die, or from creating a new die in its place. The real reason why Mr. Eccleston received
no more tokens, and the Bobbes acquired a unique specimen, is probably that the Lancaster merchant
was tardy in rendering payment for the shipment he had already received. In fact, he never did pay
for it in full.
Matthew (and eventually Matthew Robinson) Boulton sent him a number of genteel dunning
notices over the years. Deep in debt himself toward the end of 1796 (for the ‘Cartwheel’ coinage
which would put Soho to work still lay a year in the future), Matthew Boulton found himself ‘under
the necessity of pressing my friends for as many of the small sums which are owing & amongst them -
[ must earnestly entreat you to send me the L.57.2.6 as pr acc¢ on the other side by which you will
very much oblige’'’. But Eccleston hardened his heart, and did not respond for thirty months.
At length, he sent a remittance for ten pounds (13 March 1799), and, feeling flush, for a
similar amount at the end of 1800. He also volunteered to keep a keen watch for a lone burglar who
was still at large after a robbery attempt at Soho on Christmas Eve and who had been rumored
heading in the direction of Lancaster. The felon was apprehended near Manchester a few months
later, with no apparent help from Mr. Eccleston.
But the latter was that way - generous to a fault, so long as it didn’t involve money or undo
effort. The Soho ledgers show him still owing L.37.2.6 of the original bill at the end of 1801; in the
summer of 1804, Eccleston (who had retained contacts with the West Indies), sent Matthew
=
'R. Dalton and S. H. Hamer, The Provincial Token-Coinage of the 18th Century [1910-
1918; reprinted and updated by Allan Davisson, 1990], p.71.
''MBP230, Matthew Boulton to Daniel Eccleston, 21 September 1796.
Robinson Boulton ‘half a Doz Cocoa Nuts.--- They came in our last West-India Fleet, seem full of
Milk, and [I] expect they are very good ones’.'* The younger Boulton’s reaction went unrecorded.
Over the next decade, Eccleston paid a few more pounds here and there. Soho had received
another L.20, in two instalments, by March 1807, but that still left him L.17.2.6 in arrears, as
Boulton’s secretary William Cheshire wrote to remind him; he reminded him again toward the end
of the year, but to no avail. Forty pounds were the most they would ever get out of Daniel Eccleston.
In time, Matthew Boulton died, and his son turned away from the coining business in the
pursuit of leisure. Small debts were often overlooked, or forgotten. But they might be resurrected,
and so it was with the monies owed by a Lancashire merchant. Late in 1820, Zacchaeus Walker, Jr.
(who was Matthew Boulton’s nephew and was acting as Matthew Robinson Boulton’s amanuensis
at the time) was going over old accounts and found one which, to his horror, had gone unpaid for a
quarter of a century. And so he sent one final, polite request for remittance (‘I presume the
transaction must have been entirely lost sight of by you, or it would not have been suffered to have
remained so long unliquidated.’"’). But politesse did not suffice with a man like Eccleston, who in
any case was nearing death, this time for real. Soho remained unpaid, and its correspondent passed
into the Great Beyond, on 3 March 1821. It is doubtful whether the sum owed for a long-ago token
was then uppermost in his mind.
And there are times when it is best to absorb one’s losses and turn to the consolations of
philosophy. Matthew Boulton may have never gotten his fifty-seven pounds in full; but the token
which an eccentric merchant had him strike afforded him much worthwhile instruction in coinage
and affords us a handsome memento of a remarkable time, and of two remarkable men.
—R. G. DOTY
'*MBP230, Daniel Eccleston to Matthew Robinson Boulton, 16 August 1804.
'-MBP65, Mint and Coinage Letter Book, 1820-1823, Zacchaeus Walker, Jr. to ‘Daniel
Belteshazzer [sic] Plantagenet Eccleston’, 18 October 1820. Walker’s choice of address suggests
that he had seen Eccleston’s ‘obituary’ of 1816.
—»'2
24
Bathing Machines and Beach Boats
by
David S. Brooke
The unusual token which advertises both the sea-bathing and the fisheries of
Lowestoft (Suffolk 37) was classified—and complimented—by James Wright of Dundee
as being both “descriptive and curious.” Descriptive it certainly is, and after some
investigation, it has occurred to me that the scenes on both sides of the coin are probably
more specific to Lowestoft than they might at first appear. Even within so small a
compass as a halfpenny, the bathing machines, the fishing boats and the larger vessels
may all have had a local reference.
When the token was issued in 1795, Lowestoft was both an active fishing port
(though without a harbour) and a fast-growing seaside resort.' It had “the noblest and
most beautiful appearance from the sea of any town upon the coast,” an excellent beach
for bathing, and was “much frequented in the bathing season by the nobility and gentry.”
To these claims was added the boast that the fine air was “strongly recommended by the
London physicians in many disorders, particularly nervous complaints, and the healthy
situation contributes much to the longevity of its inhabitants.”” A new turnpike road to
Yarmouth had recently been built, and a daily stage and mail service to London was in
operation. A theatre had been opened for the visitors in 1790.
Lowestoft’s principal trade at the time was catching and curing herring and
mackerel, which it supplied to local, London and even continental markets. Over thirty
boats were employed in this industry in 1790, and several of these were operated by the
Peache family, one of whom commissioned the token.’ Shipbuilding, rope-making and
chinaware were among the town’s other activities. The Lowestoft porcelain factory
(1757-1802) was noted for its attractive wares, and during the 1780s and 1790s produced
souvenirs inscribed as “Trifles” from Lowestoft and from nearby towns. Two of the mugs
show a panoramic view of the two lighthouses, the houses behind them and the shipping
in the Roadstead [illustrated]. A flask shows shipbuilding on the shore.*
The obverse of the Lowestoft token 1s dominated by two bathing machines, the
furthest being partway down a steeply sloping beach, and presumably in the water. Both
have their canopies or “modesty hoods” down, allowing the occupants to take a private
“sea bath.” The town was clearly proud of its version of a bathing machine. In 1769,
Scrivener Capon of the Crown Inn advertised that he had constructed a machine “after an
improved model of those used at Deal.” It consisted of a “convenient and elegant
Dressing Room, and of a Bath annexed, which freely admits a depth of water not
exceeding five Feet.” Lowestoft was also proud of its beach, “bold and steep,” of hard
' For Lowestoft see: Edmund Gillingwater, An Historical Account of the Ancient Town of Lowestoft,
London, 1790; A Lady, The Lowestoft Guide, Yarmouth, 1812; and Peter Clements, Lowestoft, 200 Years
a Seaside Resort, 1994. A Perspective View of Lowestoft from the N.E. Battery by Richard Powles (1790)
provides a detailed picture of the town around the time the token was issued.
Peter Barfoot, The Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce and Architecture, 1794, pp.572-576.
> Gillingwater, op. cit. Peaches are recorded as boat owners from 1753 onwards.
* Geoffrey Godden, Lowestoft Porcelains, 1985, colour plate 10 and plate 85. See also A.J.B. Kiddell,
~Richard Powles, Lowestoft Painter,” English Ceramic Circle Transactions, vol. 2, no. 7, 1939, pp.112-114.
° Norwich Mercury, 1769. It is interesting to note that John Kirby’s The Suffolk Traveller, London, 1764,
makes no mention of sea bathing—“the chief employment here is fishing.”
sand intermixed with shingle. Because of this steepness, the town’s machines could be let
down into the sea and pulled out again with a rope and windlass; a horse was not needed.
According to a later guide “the machine thus secured cannot escape,” though one
wonders what would happen to the unfortunate bather inside if the rope broke.°
Presumably such machines went through several improvements, and the rival inn, the
Queen’s Head, introduced more of them in 1770.’
There can be little doubt that the machines shown on the token are of this
Lowestoft type since windlasses can just be made out on the beach, and the latticed end
of the “Bath” is clearly visible behind the wheels of the nearest machine. A contemporary
sketch of a bathing machine from an album of local drawings and prints assembled by
Isaac Gillingwater confirms this® [illustrated]. Behind the machines on the token are
three tall ships. I am inclined to see these not just as a compositional convenience, but as
a possible reference to the celebrated view of the “German Ocean” and “the Ships of the
Northern Trade” which passed Lowestoft (the most eastern point of England) very close
to the shore.” The designer of the token has also attempted to show some vegetation
(notably a three-lobed plant and some tall grasses) in the foreground. It seems possible
that these may have some reference to the “beautiful marine plants ... worthy of the
attention of the botanist” which are enthusiastically described in the guide of 1812.
On the reverse of the token, which advertises “Success to the Fisheries,” three
kinds of fishing vessel are shown.'° The dominant central image is a craft that was
apparently much in use at Lowestoft. A drawing of 1784 by Richard Powles [illustrated]
shows two of these boats pulled up on the beach, while larger vessels float off shore."
Three bathing machines, with their windlasses, are also included. 7
By the time the first Lowestoft guide appeared in 1812, the town had apparently
acquired “a considerable repute as a bathing-place.”’? A hot bath had been built near the
beach in 1809; another theatre and a reading room had just opened. There were now over
forty lodging houses, most of them on the east side of Lowestoft, with good views of the
sea, renting from one to six guineas a week. The guide noted that “flattered by [the
town’s] increasing celebrity, a mania for building and beautifying their dwellings seems
° A Lady, op. cit., p.23. Another feature of the Lowestoft machines was a cradle which allowed “the fair
bathers to plunge into the briny wave fearless of danger.”
” Clements, op. cit., p.5.
® The drawing is captioned as follows: 1) A Windlass, to draw the machine out of the sea, after Bathing; 2)
The room where the Bathers undress; 3) The end over the Bath, you descend by steps from a door into the
Bath; 4) Hoops for an awning to pull down over the Bath when any person is bathing to prevent any
Spectator looking at them; 5) The Bath. The unpublished album of captioned drawings, cross-referenced to
Gillingwater’s Historical Account of 1790, is in the Lowestoft Central Library. It is listed there as
Manuscript Drawings Illustrative of the History of Lowestoft, Mutford and Lothingland, collected by I.
Gillingwater, 1807.
° See Capon’s advertisement of 1769 in the Norwich Mercury and also Barfoot, op. ci
'° These were identified by R.C. Bell in Commercial Coins, Newcastle, 1963, p.177, as A Sherringham
beach boat in the foreground, and in the distance a herring smack and a three-masted lugger.” The
Lowestoft Maritime Museum suggests that the beach boat, with its high transom reminiscent of the Dutch
“hoy,” is an early drifter. -
't Tsaac Gilingynie, op.cit.
A Lady, op. Cit., p.24. The author vainta an attractive picture of Lowestoft in 1812, with its sloping
gardens, “one = the greatest ornaments of the town,” descending to the beach, directly behind which were
the fish pee for curing the herring. The shore is seen as a place of bustling activity with the boats drawn
up on it, and an “almost constant display of shipping at sea.”
25
26
oa
to have taken possession of the inhabitants ... within the last three or four years, the town
has increased considerably in every direction.” !? Lowestoft was still a very active fishing
port, which must have given it a special flavour as a seaside resort, and in 1811 a second
token—a penny—was issued by a local tradesman, again toasting “Success to the
Lowestoft Fisheries.” "*
Note: In preparing this essay I have been especially grateful for the assistance of David
Wright who provided me with the illustrations of the bathing machine and the beach
scene from the Lowestoft Branch Record Office. Christopher Garibaldi of the Castle
Museum in Norwich kindly provided me with photographs of the Lowestoft mug in their
collection. I would like to thank both institutions for allowing me to reproduce these
items in this essay. Christopher Brooks generously gave me a copy of Peter Clements's
book, and the Lowestoft Marine Museum assisted me with the identification of the boats.
iia
Ibid.
4 W.J. Davis, The Nineteenth Century Token Coinage, London, 1904, p.137. The issuer, John Chaston,
was a draper and bank agent.
LOWESTOFT.
Bathing machines in the water, and
ships at sea. LOWESTOFT TOKEN.
SEA BATH (RP) 1795.
R: Men in a boat fishing, and ships at
a distance. SUCCESS TO THE
FISHERIES,
E’: Milled. A. 85
37.
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28
Paine or Pain?
By Jim Wahl -
The strong views and eloquent writings of Thomas Paine have engendered numerous
tokens with political motifs, both pro and con. Paine's writing of Common Sense in America, and
the Rights of Man tn England had a great influence on public opinion in his time and therefore on
subsequent events. My interest has been to study various aspects of his life to try to understand
how he was able to have such a targe impact on public opinion and how that had an effect on
events of the time.
Before discussing any tokens it is necessary to give some background to Paine's life as
to how he became a writer of such influence. It is not my intention to dwell upon the content of
his writings. The Rights of Man was published in two lengthy volumes; for the purposes of this
article it is to be noted that his views were very radical for his times.
Many of the ideas expressed in Paine's writings were not completely new, but Paine was
an original thinker in expanding and expressing his opinions. When he wrote he was subjective
in that alt his expressed opinions were his own. His writing style was forceful, straightforward,
and written in language people could understand, rapidly convincing his readers to believe that
what he wrote was just what they had been thinking. He must have had what would now be
called a photographic memory. Later when he wrote the Age of Reason in France he was able to
quote long passages from the Bible without having reference to a copy, and which he had
probably not read since his schooling before he was thirteen years old.
Paine had a long and eventful life, including some narrow escapes from a premature
death. He was born January 29, 1737, in Thetford, Norfolk, a town of 2000 inhabitants. His
father, Joseph, was a corset and staymaker. He attended a grammar school until he was
thirteen, then was apprenticed to his father as a staymaker. He ran away in 1756 to join the crew
of a privateer ship, the Terrible, captained by the ironically named William Death, in the war
against France. His father came to get him off the ship, fortunately for Paine, as in its first battle
with a French privateer, the Vengeance, all the officers and 90 percent of the crew were killed.
He signed on with another privateer, the King of Prussia, which had a successful run of about
fifteen months, earning some prize money for crew members.
Paine married in 1759, opening his own shop which soon failed, and his wife died in
1760. He was appointed to customs Service in 1762 but had to wait for a vacancy before
assuming his post in 1764. He was fired in 1765 for failing to adequately check goods passing
through customs. Paine was again appointed to customs in 1768 at Lewes in Suffolk. His
landiord was Samuel Ollive, who had a tobacco shop. He died in 1769 leaving the shop to his
widow who was not able to adequately manage the shop. Paine tried to help by taking part
ownership which was also unsuccessful and resulted in considerable debt to him. He married
Elizabeth Ollive, Samuel Ojlive's daughter, in 1771. He spent the winter of 1771-72 in London
lobbying for an increase in customs officers pay. Paine's own pay was only 50 pounds per year,
and he had the expense of keeping his own horse to carry out his duties. He was again fired from
customs service for being absent without leave. Creditors seized all of Paine's assets and he
and his wife separated. Paine never did remarry.
During this period while he was at Lewes, he met with a group called the White Hart
Evening Club which discussed economics and politics. He became interested in politics and was
known as skilled in debating and presenting his arguments, achieving some local fame. He also
knew Benjamin Franklin somewhere about this time, probably during the winter he spent in
London.. When he had all his financial and employment problems in 1774, Franklin urged him to
go to America and provided him with letters of introduction to use in Philadelphia. Paine arrived
in Philadelphia very ill in November 1774. From his connection with Franklin he was appointed
editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine where he had free reign to hone his writing skills in writing
many articles and tracts.
At this point Paine was almost 38 years of age, and events of his whole life up to then
were those of a young man trying to make his way in the worid, without much success, and
having had many failures. His outlook on the world was shaped by his background and
experiences to that time. In Thetford where he was born, his father was in the lower middle
class, without enough property to be an eligible voter. Thetford had only 31 people eligible to
vote, of a population of 2000, with two representatives in Parliament, the same as Bristol, a
thriving and growing port city. In England only 5 percent of the people were eligibte to vote, and
5000 voters elected one-half of the Parliament members. His father was a Quaker, making him
inelegible to hold any sort of public office, and Quakers were also considered to be non-
conformists and dissidents. Part of his later success in influencing public opinion was his firm
belief in equal rights for all, undoubtedly forged by the conditions of his tife to that time.
In America, Paine found his natural calling and achieved fame through his authorship of
Common Sense. It was also a matter of being in the right place at the right time for Paine. He
arrived just before the start of fighting in the American Revolution, and being in Philadelphia, the
location of the Continental Congress, he became acquainted with the leading Americans of the
day. The American Revolution began as a rebellion against the perceived wrongs of the English
govemment towards the colonies. The idea of actual independence was not new, but Paine's
Common Sense, published in early 1776, galvanized public opinion in favor of independence
from England. America’s population at this time was under 3,000,000, and 120,000 copies of
Common Sense sold in the first three months after publication, and 500,000 copies in the first
year.. He wrote many tracts during the war and also served on the staff of General Greene.
Paine's hobby was mechanics, and he developed a design for a long span iron bridge in
1785. A model of the bridge was built in Philadelphia, attracting much attention, but attempts to
have the bridge built over the Schuykill River in Philadelphia were not successful, as the
estimated cost of $33,000 was considered to be too high. He went back to England and also
France in 1787 in an attempt to sell the bridge idea. A model was built in London on which
Paine owed considerable money which he could not pay. He gave up his rights to the bridge,
which was eventually built by others over the Wear River at Sunderland.
Once again, Paine was in the right place at the right time when the French Revolution
began in 1789. Edmund Burke, who had favored the American cause in its dispute with England
over taxation and other repressive measures to the American colonies, wrote Reflections on the
French Revolution in 1790. Burke's opinion can be summed up in a phrase from the Reflections,
"leaming will be cast into the mire and under the hoofs of the swinish multitude". Paine took
issue with Burke's opinions and caused him to write a refutation of Burke in pari 1 of Rights of
Man in 1791, and elaboration of his ideas in part 2, published early in 1792. Part 2 was an instant
success, quickly selling 100,000 copies at a cost of sixpence. Many other copies were pirated.
The govemment had known Paine was writing the Rights of Man but allowed it to be published
thinking that the cost would prevent the common people from buying and reading it.
The Rights of Man electrified the people causing much ferment and some rioting. Both
Burke and Paine were bumed or hung in effigy by opposing groups. One of Paine's points was
that hereditary monarchy was wrong and constituted ruling from the grave. William Pitt decided
the Rights of Man was seditious and Paine was indicted on charges of treason in 1792. The
French elected him to the National Convention, and Paine narrowly escaped to France because
a warrant for his arrest had not yet been issued. Paine was defended at the trial by Thomas
Erskine, and was convicted in absentia.
The Govemment was plainly apprehensive over the possibility of a revolution and took a
number of counter measures. There was a Royal Proclamation against sedition, subversion and
AM
30
riot in May, 1792. Habeus corpus was suspended in 1794, providing that prisoners could be
held for an indefinite period without trial, followed by the Treason Act of 1795, andthe Seditious
Meeting act in 1796. Many were arrested and prosecuted merely for printing or selling Rights of
Man.
Paine arrrived in Paris September 29, 1792, shortly after a mob massacred over 1,000
prisoners. Charles Dickens uses this event in a climactic part of A Tale of Two Cities. Paine
was a moderate and argued for banishment of Louis XV! to America and against execution. He
was a member of the Jacobin party, which was tuming violent under Robespierre. His views
earned him the enmity of Robespierre and Marat, who were largely responsible for the Terror;
and he was imprisoned December 27, 1793, where he had another narrow escape. Robespierre
signed an order for Paine’s execution in July, 1794. There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that
Paine was scheduled for execution the next day in a group of 160 prisoners. The jailers would
go around and put a chalk mark on the cell door of those scheduled for execution. The story is
that Paine's cell door was open at that time so the mark got placed on the inside and so, not
visible the next moming. The origin of the story is in a letter Paine wrote seeking help while he
was in prison.
An Hlustration in R.C. Bell's Political and Commemorative Pieces, page 218, shows how
this could possibly happen, providing the French prison was similar to Newgate, the subject of
the picture. The cell door is of solid wood opening outward, so the mark would be on the inside
when the doors were closed and locked at night, then passed over in the morning. Marat was
assasinated and Robespierre deposed July 27, 1794, and promptly executed, removing Paine
from any further danger. After intervention of the new American ambassador, James Monroe,
he was released late in 1794. He again took his seat in the Convention but had little influence
thereafter, although continuing his writing, notably the Age of Reason. He did not speak French
and never learned the French language. It is known that in this period he actively promoted
revolution in Britain against the monarchy. He stayed in France until 1802, as he would not leave
before getting a safe passage to America as an American citizen, as he would be arrested if his
ship was stopped by the English. He then lived in America until he died in 1809.
Here. is a clever poem written by Arthur O'Connor, an Irish patriot. He reportedly
distributed the poem on his way to prison in 1798. Being in enough trouble already, he
prudently distributed the version below on the left as written, with his true meaning on the right.
The pomp of courts and pride of kings, The pomp of courts and pride of kings,
| prize above all earthly things; | fain would banish far from hence;
| love my country; the king, | prize above all earthly things;
Above all men his praise | sirig: The Rights of Man and Common Sense;
The royal banners are displayed, | love my country, the king,
And may success the standard aid. Confusion to his odious reign.
| would fain banish far from hence, Above all men his praise | sing;
The Rights of Man and Common Sense; that foe to princes, Thomas Paine!
Confusion to his odious reign, The royal banners are displayed,
That foe of princes, Thomas Paine! Defeat and ruin seize the cause,
Defeat and ruin seize the cause And may success the standard aid
Of France, its liberties, and laws! Of France, its liberties, and laws!
Because of the great differences of opinion about the Rights of Man many views were
represented on the tokens. This is not a check list, and other tokens than those described here
could be attributed to some of the different views.
A penny size token in white metal, Middlesex 208, has a well executed bust of Thomas
Paine. This is the only token to show a likeness of Paine. The reverse refers to the mountain in
labor, a fable attributed to Aesop, (6th century B.C). A book of the complete fables of Aesop in
our local library does not have this fable in it, however the fable was referred to or used by
Horace, the Roman poet, c. 65 B.C. The reverse illustrates these words from the fable: "A huge
gap appeared in the side of the mountain. At last a tiny mouse came forth.” f think this may be
a satire on Paine and his membership in the National Convention of France. In the chambers,
the Jacobins sat on raised chairs or benches, so they were higher than the other members and
were known as the Mountain.
A vitriolic token on the Rights of Man and Paine is Middlesex 209, in white metal and
extremely rare. It is attributed to have been issued by Skidmore, who issued a number of anti-
Paine tokens, notably the End of Pain series. A somewhat degraded specimen of this token was
offered in the Noble sale, and | was fortunate to see a high quality example in the Bobbe's
exhibit at the A.N.A. convention in Portland tn August.
The End of Pain series is included in the Spence tokens, although mostly made by
Skidmore. These are Middiesex 827-835, 836, 1185-1110. The reference to Pain ts thought of
as a pun, but Paine's original name in England was Pain, as he added the e to his name only
after coming to America in 1774. Spence would now be called a socialist and had his own
agenda, but he agreed with Paine's opinions as in his “noted advocates for the Rights of Man”
series, Middlesex 677, 837, 838, and 1111-1119. One of the three Thomases is Sir Thomas
More, who was actually beheaded by King Henry VIII in 1535, and for different reasons.
The trigger inspiring Paine to write the Rights of Man was Edmund Burke's Reflections
on the French Revolution. Burke was a respected member of parliament, and a token, Yorkshire
3, was issued in 1798 in memory of his death, July 9, 1797.
In Paine’s trial for treason, December, 1792, Paine was defended by Thomas Erskine,
but was found guilty. Erskine also successfully defended Thomas Hardy and others from
seditious charges, and Home Tooke on treason charges. (Middlesex 1010-1013 and 1044-1047)
Daniet Eaton was prosecuted six times for printing Rights of Man and other works between 1793
and 1/796. He was acquitted the first five times, until found guilty in 1796. He went to America
to escape punishment, but was imprisoned for fifteen months on his return three years later.
After his first trial acquittal, the London Corresponding Society had a token issued honoring this
event, Middlesex 203, and for Thomas Hardy, Middlesex 204-206. | particularly like Eaton's own
trade token, Middlesex 301, showing a cock on a fence crowing over swine in the mire below.
Eaton lived tn a house he called the Cock and Swine, but | like to think this is Eaton's faugh at
authority for prosecuting him.
There were mules of the designs referred to, mostly by Skidmore. Many of the Spence
tokens also exhibit themes on rights and unjust laws. One other group of tokens meriting
mention are those showing the bridge utitizing Patne’s design, Durham 2, 3, 10 and 11. The
bridge is over the Wear River at Sunderland, opened in 1796 and used continuously until
replaced in 1929.
References Author Published
Thomas Paine: Political and Social Thought Gregory Claeys 1989
Thomas Paine: Apostle of Freedom Jack Fruchtman 1994
R.C. Belt 1987
31
32
IRONBRIDGE GORGE
: = Sy BIRTHPLACE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ag
John Weibel ~ CTCC 26
This past April, my wife and I visited England’s historic Ironbridge Gorge, located in
Shropshire, east of Wales and west of Birmingham. Having a keen interest in the Industrial
Revolution as well as historic bridges, this was a must-see place for me. The importance of this
area was confirmed in 1986 when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) designated the Ironbridge Gorge a World Heritage Site, proclaiming
its “exceptional and universal value”. What happened in this area during the eighteenth century,
for both good and bad, profoundly changed the world. From the 1770’s to around 1815 visitors
came here from all over the world to learn about the new technologies and bring these concepts
back to their own lands. Our modern industrial society can trace its very beginning back to this
out of the way area on the River Severn.
This article discusses the Ironbridge Gorge primarily as it relates to Shropshire tokens featuring
the famous Ironbridge (D&H 3 - 17). Typical obverses feature a longitudinal view of the bridge
with a vessel sailing under and the legends: IRON BRIDGE AT COALBROOK DALE 1792
/ ERECTED ANNO 1779 / SPAN 100 FEET. Earlier tokens (D&H 3 - 4) lack the sailing
vessel and feature the single legend: IRON BRIDGE AT COALBROOK DALE 1779.
Tokens D&H 5, 6, 7 add HEIT. 50 FT. after SPAN 100 FT. All reverses show a man working a
machine on a masonry platform with a wheeled cradle on a slope, attached to the machine by
cable. In exergue are the legend and date: INCLINED PLANE AT KETLEY / 1789. Most
edges feature the lettering: PAYABLE AT COALBROOK - DALE AND KETLEY. The
tokens were issued by ironmaster William Reynolds for the Coalbrook Dale Iron Company. The
dies were engraved by George Wyon and manufactured by Peter Kempson. Approximately three
tons were struck in Birmingham. Asa type, this is a common token that saw wide circulation.
Ironbridge Gorge and other nearby areas saw an explosion of industrial activity during the
eighteenth century. Foremost among these innovations are: The first smelting of iron with coke
by Abraham Darby I at Coalbrookdale in 1709; first casting of iron cylinders for steam engines
in 1722; first casting of iron railway wheels in 1729; first iron rails laid on timber ties in 1769;
first cast iron bridge in 1779; first iron boat by John Wilkinson in 1787; first iron bridge
fabricated for export in 1791; first iron aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern by Thomas Telford and
William Reynolds in 1795-6; first cast iron framed building in Shrewsbury in 1796; first high
pressure steam powered railway locomotive in 18072.
In the 1960’s, the British government created the planned “new town” of Telford, incorporating a
large expanse of territory, including Coalbrookdale and the market town of Ironbridge. The
bridge and the decaying remnants of the Gorge’s industrial past were wisely viewed as being
potentially valuable to the new town. Intense reawakened interest helped bring development
funds into this long neglected region. In 1967 the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust was created
to preserve and promote these eighteenth and nineteenth century industrial sites as educational
and tourist assets. Collectively known as The Ironbridge Gorge Museums, these sites include:
e The Jronbridge and Tollhouse e Broseley Pipe Works
e Museum of Iron and Darby Furnace e Museum of the River
e Bhlists Hill Victorian Town e Bedlam Furnace Ruins
e Coalport China Museum e The Tar Tunnel
e Jackfield Tile Museum e
Darby Family Houses
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By the 1770’s the rural Severn Gorge was rapidly becoming the most important industrialized
area in the world and the Severn, England’s busiest waterway. The need for a new bridge was
critical as existing ferries failed to satisfactorily accommodate the growing cross river traffic.
There was a consensus among local businessmen that a bridge was needed and Coalbrook Dale,
the best location. At that time, the name Coalbrook Dale was applied to most of the surrounding
area. Today’s Coalbrookdale encompasses a much smaller area north-west of the Ironbridge.
Later, the Georgian market town of Ironbridge sprung up at the bridge’s north end, taking its
name from the bridge. The regional economy peaked about 1815, then declined steadily
afterward as the area was eclipsed by the industrial growth of other competing urban centers.
Spanning 100 feet - six inches over the River Severn, connecting the communities of Broseley
and Ironbridge, this is the world’s first iron framed bridge. Designed by Shrewsbury architect
Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (1723 - 1777), work on the bridge began in 1777. Quaker ironmaster
Abraham Darby III (1750 - 1789) took on the major responsibility of financirig and building the ©
new bridge. Other local businessmen and ironmasters such as John Wilkinson may have
participated, but to a lesser extent. There was considerable doubt about the practicality of using
iron in such a bold venture, but Darby believed it would succeed and help to advance his
family’s iron making business. Despite the bridge’s success, its ultimate cost far exceeded
33
34
Darby’s initial estimates leaving him deeply in debt. His Coalbrook Dale company however, did
gain world wide notice and prospered for generations afterward.
Component pieces were cast at Abraham Darby III’s nearby furnaces in open sand molds and
transported to the site. It’s unclear exactly how the bridge was erected since few records of its
construction exist. But we do know it was assembled in the same manner as a timber bridge.
Mortise and tenon joints, dovetails and wedges held the bridge together. The builders used the
known technology of the day based on traditional wood and stone structures. The science of
structural engineering as we know it today had yet to be developed. Bolting, riveting and
welding of structural components came much later with further advances in iron and steel.
The bridge opened to traffic on January 1, 1781 with a wide range of tolls based on type of
wheeled vehicle and by number and type of animals. Those crossing on foot paid a toll of one
halfpenny; the Ironbridge token itself may very well have been used as payment. A four story
Georgian brick tollhouse was constructed on the south bank alongside the bridge. Still existing
today, it now houses exhibits and a gift shop where one can purchase a certificate attesting to
having walked across the bridge.
The Severn Gorge is subject to periodic floods and suffered one of its worst in 1795. This
“Great Flood of 1795” caused considerable destruction, washing away many of the timber and
stone bridges in the valley. The Ironbridge survived intact, proving to all the unquestionable
strength and durability of iron. After this momentous event, iron became the preferred material
for bridges and engineered structures throughout the world. The Sunderland bridge, also made
of iron and depicted on Sunderland penny tokens (Durham D&H 2 - 3), followed in 1796 with a
more daring span of 236 feet across the River Wear. It was demolished in 1929.
Continual geological movement of the river banks has stressed the Ironbridge ever since its
initial construction. Over the centuries, numerous repairs and reconstructions have been required
to stabilize the bridge. Inadvertently, its flexible timber-like assembly may have actually helped
prolong its life by accommodating some of this movement. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that this
geological condition was finally addressed in order to assure the bridge’s long term stability.
River bank movement required the demolition of the original south abutment in 1802. Timber
arches were installed and remained until 1821 when cast iron arches, still existing today, were
constructed. Bolting and plating of iron members was required by 1863 to repair and stabilize
the structure. By 1926, demolition of the bridge was considered as it was deemed to be obsolete
and unstable. Fortunately, no action was taken. In 1934 the bridge was closed to vehicles,
making it accessible only to foot traffic. Pedestrian tolls continued to be imposed until 1950
when ownership passed from private proprietorship (descendants of Darby’s in-laws) to
Shropshire County Council control. The bridge has been a free pedestrian crossing since then.
The 1967 founding of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust brought about a major project to
restore the Ironbridge for its 200th anniversary in 1979. From 1972 - 1975 the bridge underwent
major repair and reconstruction. A massive inverted concrete arch was constructed on the river
bed to permanently hold the shifting abutments in place. Restoration was complete by 1980 -
1981 when it was completely repainted with a dark gray coating to protect the ironwork.
Shropshire’s historic Ironbridge is certainly among the world’s most appealing bridges.
Although somewhat crude and naive in its execution, it surpasses many later bridges in
gracefulness and simple elegance. Its arched ironwork proudly proclaims in white lettering on
both sides: THIS BRIDGE WAS CAST AT COALBROOK = DALE / AND ERECTED IN
THE YEAR MDCCLXXIX. The iron circles at each end appear as porthole windows or eyes
looking out onto the water. The bridge’s roadway rises steeply from each end toward a central
peak. When looking across the roadway from one end, people appear to rise up or disappear as
they ascend toward and descend away from the peak. The roadway is lined on both sides by a
vertical picket fence. At the center peak, decorative ironwork panels announce “ERECTED IN
1779”. The depiction of Ironbridge on the Shropshire tokens is very similar to its actual
appearance today. The only difference being the absence of the decorative lampposts shown on
the token at three locations above the roadway. The views from the bridge up and down the river
are absolutely beautiful, green and bucolic. Its hard to picture this pastoral setting as ever having
been a major center of industrial activity. Illuminated at night, the bridge’s arch is beautifully
reflected in the water forming a complete circle when viewed from a distance.
INCLINED PLANE AT KETLEY
Until visiting Jronbridge Gorge, I had a rather dim idea of what exactly an inclined plane was.
Here, one can visit a similar preserved example - the Hay Inclined Plane at Blists Hill. Ketley
was one of several iron producing sites in the hills around Coalbrookdale. Ketley was also site
of the first of three inclined planes constructed throughout the hilly region. An inclined plane is
basically a railed slope on a hillside where small boats are pulled up from a lower canal to a
higher canal. William Reynolds (1759 - 1805), cousin of Abraham Darby III and fellow Quaker,
had these structures built as a means of raising and lowering canal boats without the need for
expensive locks. The inclined plane was a significant engineering achievement which allowed
canals to be used in the hilly Shropshire iron and coal fields. Transporting iron ore and coal
became easier, faster and cheaper thanks to this invention.
I’m not certain exactly how the inclined plane at Ketley operated, but information displayed at
the remaining Hay Inclined Plane and at the Museum of Iron could be applicable to Ketley.
According to these displays, the Hay Inclined Plane was originally operated by horses upon
starting up in 1791 then converted to steam power in 1793. Since Ketley was built earlier (1788
- 1789), it too may have been initially powered by horses and then converted to steam afterward.
35
36
Main winding Other rope winds opposite
drum and way round drum
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Small
winding
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-- tub ‘boate-3 were flea unto vaiiesied ctadies Shich carried ac up aun down the slope on
iron rails. At the top of the incline, a steam engine was employed to pull the cradles up the
reverse slope and out of the water. Normally the incline was self acting, the weight of a loaded
boat descending pulling an empty one up from below, but when a loaded boat lay at the bottom,
the steam engine would be required to draw it up the slope”. 2
Man made canals and natural rivers were the primary means of transporting goods in eighteenth
century Britain. The later development and expansion of railways made many of these canals
and the inclined planes obsolete. The Hay inclined plane was last used in 1894 and totally
abandoned by 1907. Nearby sections of the old Shropshire canal have been re-excavated and
restored. Portions of the canal can be seen in Coalport at the bottom of the Hay incline, and
directly above it on Blists Hill.
BLISTS HILL VICTORIAN TOWN
This “open air” museum contains a fascinating collection of original industrial sites with
relocated and reconstructed Victorian era shops, workshops and other buildings. Costumed
“residents” demonstrate Shropshire village life circa 1900. Here modern currency can be
exchanged at the town’s bank for “twentieth century British tokens” at the rate of 1d to 40 pence
to spend in the shops and pubs. I brought back several uncirculated sets of these Birmingham
minted, 1987 dated tokens. The set consists of seated Britannia copper farthing, halfpenny and
penny pieces and a crowned “3” nickel three pence. Intended to mimic turn of the century pre-
decimal coinage, perhaps these tokens may become sought after collectibles in the future. __
The surviving Hay Inclined Plane, sans machinery and derelict for nearly a century, can be
visited at Blists Hill.
REFERENCES
1. Bell, R.C., Commercial Coins 1787-1804, Corbitt & Hunter Ltd, 1963
2. Blists Hill Open Air Museum, The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Ltd and Jarrold Publishing, 1995-6
3. Coalbrookdale and the Museum ofIron, The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Ltd and Jarrold Publishing, 1996
4. Dalton, R. and $.H. Hamer, The Provincial Token Coinage of the 18th Century, 1990 Update, Davissons, Ltd
5. Dawes, N. and R., American Preservation, Vol. 3 No.2, March - April, 1980
6. Ironbridge - A World Heritage Site, The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Ltd and Jarrold Publishing, 1996
7. The Ironbridge and Town, The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Ltd and Jarrold Publishing, 1995
"MINT RED"*
Recently I visited a friend of mine, who is a British dealer, located near the British Mu-
seum in London. I asked what was new in "Conder" tokens. He brought out a reasonably
common token with about 70% luster. He said, "Bill, this piece has a lot of "Mint Red".
Oh oh! I heard cash registers ringing in the background. The words "Mint Red" rolled off
his tongue with the sustained emphasis of a religious mantra. Oh oh! He's been talking to
American dealers long enough to know that luster can carry a substantial premium. The
British collectors acknowledge that luster is good, but it’s not that big of a deal. However,
present an E. A. C. member with an 18th century copper that exhibits full, original, un-
toyed with, flashy mint bloom - and the manufacturers of Viagra would be envious of the
visceral response.
So, the British folk are on to us. They are an observant group, so I knew it wouldn't take
long. I paid more for the token than I normally would have expected to pay; "Mint Red"
had taken its toll.
A footnote: Normally I have little trouble (as a dealer) selling common choice uncircu-
lated "Conder" tokens. They are old, interesting, and attractive. But without an up-to-date
pricing reference, I find myself song and dancing people to convince them that the rarer
issues are actually worth the hundreds of dollars I am asking for them. The conversation
always starts out the same, "I remember when I could buy six of those in full B. U. for
$60.00". Yeah, well at one time the 1804 dollar cost under $100.00.
What we need, especially after the Noble auction, is an up-to-date pricing guide. It would
be a mammoth undertaking (no, I don't have the time to do it), but it would do the hobby
a world of good.
Footnote #2: I have pretty much given up on standard issue US coins. After a certain
point, they are boring - no matter what light you put on it. Full horn, full split bands, full
head, ultra full head, full lunch box, what are we talking about here? Marketing, that's
what - or, you can mortgage your house to get that large cent variety with the crack run-
ning from the twelfth star to the rim (a distance of roughly 3mm). But the "colonials" and
the "Conders" offer a brief but informative window into the times in which they were
made. I find that delightful.
Enough ranting. I enjoyed Allan Davisson's recounting of the Noble auction in the last is-
sue of the journal. My best to all.
Bill Seese
CTCC #79
38
THE BOBBE COLLECTION: A NUMISMATIC PROFILE
by Allen Bennett
Over the years on the coin circuit, I have been privileged to meet many
"quality" people. Of these, Jerry and Sharon Bobbe are two of the most
fascinating. For me, the highlight of the 1998 ANA Convention was the
Bobbes’ grand Conder Token display, which showcased many of the finest
pieces from their beloved personal collection. Brief and accurate mention
of the exhibit was made by Q. David Bowers in the August 31, 1998 Coin
World ("...seriously numismatic and educational...eye-popping...") and
by Wayne Anderson in his introduction to the September 1998 Conder Token
Collectors Journal ("...a sight to behold...a very special contribution
toward creating further interest in our hobby..."). It is timely, and
should be of numismatic interest, to give here a more detailed accounting
of both the formation and content of this marvelous collection.
Like many coin people, the Bobbes showed precocious collecting interest,
at about 5 years of age. Jerry's mentor in the early years was Ed Milas
of Rarcoa. In high school, Sharon worked for her collector-accumulator
father at his coin shop in Chicago. The Bobbes met in a numismatic
setting in 1976, working for Larry Whitlow, and were married in August, 19//.
Their collecting odyssey has been a common ground that has greatly enriched
their marriage, "...something we can do together." Sharon shares Jerry's
unhesitating fluency in Dalton-and-Hamerspeak. She often makes the final
call when it comes to ranking duplicates in their collection and to answering
the frequently-encountered inquiry, “Is there a diamond buried beneath this
layer of mud?" The Bobbe collection is the BOBBES' collection.
Jerry developed an intense interest in early American copper in the early
1970's, particularly after the 1971 Frank H. Masters, Jr. sale. His
middle dates included the "finest known" 1839 Newcomb variety set and ten
gem proofs, including a bronzed 1829. His first Conder tokens were
purchased at a Washington, D. C., Metropolitan Show in 1972 from Joe Levine
of Presidential Coins and Medals. Their average cost was $8 to $12, and the
total package came to several hundred dollars, all Jerry could afford at
the time. This group of tokens was subsequently sold to Wendy Gannett, his
then-girlfriend and a violist with the Milwaukee Symphony. Two specimens
from this original 1972 Conder foray reside in the Bobbe collection today:
red prooflike examples of Middlesex 282 (Ching's) and Middlesex 866 (Spence's
Thelwall/Minerva Standing).
1. Jerry was assistant principal cellist with the same organization.
Today, he is principal cellist of the Vancouver, Washington, Symphony
Orchestra, and recently was soloist with them in a televised performance.
of the Elgar Cello Concerto. He has been a member of several chamber
music groups, including the St. Elvis Trio. Additionally, Jerry instructs
talented cello students in his home and does gigs at the Portland
Border's Book Stores and at various social events to supplement the
Bobbes' income as professional numismatists.
In the mid-1970's, Jerry stimulated both Sharon and Chicago businessman
Myles Z. Gerson to collect Conder tokens. Sylvia Gothard, tennis pro
at Myles Gerson's country club, was also an enthusiastic collector during
this period. Her interest waned after Mr. Gerson died in 1985. When
Jerry and Sharon were married in 1977, their combined Conders totalled
about 200 pieces. These were common varieties in high, eye-appealing grade.
The tokens had been acquired piecemeal, since at this stage the Bobbes
had not yet had access to any major auctions or to dispersals of impor-
tant private collections.
The formation of any major original coin collection ultimately involves
fate: the availability of great material must overlap in time with
the desire to own such material by appreciative and financially-
qualified collectors. Fate did not miss the opportunity to assist two
such capable custodian-connoisseurs; over the next two decades she would
repeatedly extend her hand to assist the Bobbes in their quest.
The Bobbes' move to Portland, Oregon in June of 1978 was the unanticipated
deus ex machina for their collection. Three months after their arrival,
they stumbled upon an incredible group of forty to fifty Conder tokens at
a local coin shop. The tokens were contained in "unique handmade envelopes
written in tiny script (fig. 1), with numbers which seemed to correspond to
their place within a much larger collection." The coin shop owner would
not source the tokens, so the Bobbes became highly motivated private
investigators, hunting HIM down, over the next year. Finally, on July
16, 1979, after much cloak-and-dagger negotiation, they acquired the
Ole P. Eklund collection of Conder tokens. This assemblage, numbering some
1800 pieces, contained great depth, rarity and quality. It expanded the
Bobbes' already well-formed numismatic sensibility to comprehend a higher
dimension of potential beauty within the series and it whetted their
appetites for unique and esoteric pieces. Their rudder was set.
2. W. J. Noble and Jerry were allowed to cherry the Gerson Collection
before it was sold publicly by Spink Auctions, London in 1986-7
(Sales 53, 58 and 62).
3. The Bobbes have assumed significant intermittent debt while acquiring
their "foundation" pieces. They have often followed Robert Schuman's
dictum, "...a great coin may never be available again, but you can always
get more money." Youth can make almost any proposition seem reasonable.
Fortunately for their collection, Jerry and Sharon were physically young
in the 1970's, and are young at heart now. .
4. Biographical information concerning Mr. Eklund can be found in a memorial
article authored by Mrs. D. Dee Denise, ANA Librarian from 1951-57, in The
Numismatist (May, 1950). Mr. Eklund died on Feb. 2, 1950 at the age of 76.
A resident of Spokane, Washington from 1908 on, he was totally deaf and
never married. He received the 1945 ANA Award titled, "Leading Collector
of Copper Coins of the World" and is in the ANA Hall of Fame. His numis-
matic library contained over 30,000 books and his collection numbered some
40,000 world coins. His Conder tokens had remained miraculously unmolested
during their peregrination in the Pacific Northwest through the hands of at
least four or five owners between 1950 and 1979. Mrs. Denise was one of
2Q
An
Figure 1. Ole P. Eklund housed his tokens in handmade envelopes labelled
with his meticulous script. The Bobbes purchased his great collection,
virtually intact, on July 16, 1979.
In 1980, the Bobbes purchased the Willard Blaisdell Conder token collection
(via Del N. Bland). It contained over 3000 pieces, mostly common
commercial tokens in good condition, many in duplicate. They were also
befriended by Richard Gladdle, then Director of Stanley Gibbons Coins (on
the Strand). Through his efforts, they were permitted in 1980 to review
the Conder tokens in the British Museum. It was an indelible experience
for them. Many of the Museum's finest holdings, especially their magnifi-
cent silver proofs, were purchased at Christies’ sale of Sir George Chet-
wynd’s collection on July 30-August 1, 1872. The Bobbes were impressed
with the great care Chetwynd had taken to preserve his gems. Jerry and
Sharon regard Chetwynd as the first great token collector and like to
think that they are carrying on his tradition in our time.
4 (continued). these intermediate owners, and her copy of J. Atkins’
"The Tradesmen's Tokens of the XVIII Century (London, 1892)" carefully
inventoried the Eklund collection. Per this inventory, the Eklund
collection was largely intact when acquired by the Bobbes. Most of the
missing pieces, possibly due to their greater local marketability, were
Colonial America-related. (The Talbot, Allum & Lee mules, "Grate" halfpence,
Washington large and small eagle cents, Liberty and Security pence and
halfpence, Repub. Ameri. pennies, Theatre at New York, Franklin Press, and
Kentucky tokens were all made in Britain in the late 18th century and can be
considered part of the Conder series.) The Bobbes sold about 35 of their
gem middle date US Large Cents to finance their purchase of the Eklund
collection.
5. Sir George collected tokens "when issued" in his youth but in his last
twenty years (1830-1850) he became more aggressive and a real condition
fanatic. Chetwynd issued his own Grendon halfpenny in 1842, both in
copper (very common) and in silver (4-5 known). Fittingly, the Bobbes
acquired the finest known silver proof just before the 1998 ANA Convention
and were able to include it in their exhibit (fig. 2).
Figure 2. The Bobbes consider Sir George Chetwynd to be the first great
collector of 18th century provincial token coinage. This silver proof of
his 1842 Grendon halfpenny is the finest of 4 or 5 known specimens.
After the W. Longman Sale (Glendening's, March 12-13, 1958), significant
Conder token auctions went into a twenty year hiatus, only to fortuitously
regain steam shortly after Jerry and Sharon acquired the Eklund Collection.
The Bobbes have been notable participants in all of the subsequent major
Conder auctions, including the JR Farnell Sales I and II (Sotheby's New
York, 12/8/81 and 5/26/82), the TA Jan Sales (Spink & Son, Sale 26, 2/83
and Sale 35, 4/84), the AH Baldwin Sale (Spink Sale 43, 4/85), the M. Gerson
Sales (Spink Auctions London, Sales 53, 58 and 62, 1986-7), and more recently
the RC Bell Sale (Dix, Noonan & Webb, 10/1/96) and the WJ Noble Sale
(Noble Numismatics Pty Ltd, Sale 58B, 7/98).
Jerry and Sharon have also had access to several hoards, including: a
"roll" of Anglesey 351 that they were allowed to pick in England in the
late 1980's; a 600-piece lot of Anglesey pennies and halfpennies containing
multiplesof many patterns, purchased in late 1995; and a large Spence token
lot that was purchased just before the 1998 Portland ANA Convention.
Between collections, auctions, hoards and continuing piecemeal acquisitions,
Jerry and Sharon have acquired many duplicate specimens. These and ather tokens
have been dispersed via The Token Examiner, their periodic pricelist.
Since 1981, Jerry and Sharon have printed 21 issues, most recently in
November, 1998. Like all Jerr-Shar Productions, The Token Examiner is
sophisticated and fun. Written in a charming and inimitable, often
humorous, style, and superbly edited, it is an entertaining source of
numismatic information about Conder tokens and the social period in which
they were created. It is also a source of beautiful and honestly-graded
tokens.
~
Now, dear readers, before we proceed to the Bobbes' 1998 ANA Convention
exhibit per se, please endure a personal digression, the intent of which
is to illuminate several of the Bobbes' core numismatic priorities, deduced
after close observation over a period of time.
Until four or five years ago, I had heard the term "Conder token," but really
had no idea what it meant. I had been an aggressive condition collector of
1794 US Large Cents "by the portrait" (obverse die variety) since the mid-
1980's and was dismayed that several of my mint state specimens were
41
4?
grunging down, even though they had been handled with care and stored
in a dry safe deposit box in cotton-lined pouches. I was certainly
NOT going to try to refresh them myself, and took to polling "old-time"
Early American Copper Club members as to who they thought was the most
capable and trustworthy person to do the job. One name popped up
consistently: Jerry Bobbe.
Thus began a lengthy correspondence and sending back and forth of
valuable coins in the mail. (By the way, he lived up to his reputation
and did a great job!) Gradually, it became clear that we had a common
bond not only in our innate attraction to old copper but also in our
beliefs that surface is the primary determinant of condition and that
ownership of choice, rare old copper entails great curatorial responsi-
bility. After several years, Jerry and Sharon cordially invited me
to visit their comfortable Portland home. During a dreary January, we
spent the better part of a week sitting at their dining room table,
passing around, one by one, almost all of the Conder tokens in. their
primary collection.
After 20 years of collecting, they still had the enthusiasm of beginners,
and were appropriately proud of their collection. They both had "good eyes"
and had trained themselves to look at coins with great discipline. (They
really are PROFESSIONAL numismatists. Their knowledge of the Conder series
has been autodidactic.) Across the board, their tokens had marvelous
surfaces, often grading 66 and up, according to the standards of contempo-
rary grading services. There were many great rarities. The Bobbes col-
lected strikings in metals other than copper; their silver proofs were
especially memorable. They collected "at a glance" tokens that were vibrant
in the totality of their quality and they were particularly attracted to
prooflike uncirculated pieces with sexy toning and to bronzed proofs. The
favored quality of their "mint red" pieces was a uniform peach fuzz brick red;
and spotting, if present,was minimal and did not detract from the initial
overall impression of the die. My Gestalt then was that this experience
was the Conder token analogue of reviewing the Naftzger early date US large —
cents or the Trompeter US proof gold collection. Truly inspiring, but even
with limited experience, I sensed that other collectors could never aspire
to create such a collection. As with early American copper, many of the
varieties were so rare, especially in high grade with good eye appeal, that
probably only one in-depth, gemmy collection COULD exist at any given point
in time. After learning more about this series, this early suspicion, that
the Bobbe collection was EXTRAORDINARY, has become a certainty. We "newcomers,'
I'm afraid, will realistically need to set our collecting sights on a lower,
though still extremely enjoyable, plane. My visit to Portland was a visit to
a Conder world that approached the limits of the possible.
The Bobbes are uncompromising in their belief that 200 year old tokens in
choice condition should stay that way. They have thought through, and try
to avoid, any possible source of damage during token handling and storage.
Their advice ranges from proper safe deposit box selection ("...never use a
box next to an outer wall, too much temperature fluctuation...” ) to proper
handling ("... no hard objects on hands or wrists, only over a soft surface,
touch edges only, no talking while viewing..."). TREAT BOTH YOUR AND OTHER
COLLECTOR'S TOKENS WITH RESPECT.
Many of Jerry's favorite anecdotes relate to episodes of token
mishandling that he has witnessed. These range from a British auc-—
tioneer who casually threw a just-won token, unprotected, into a tray
containing other unprotected tokens, to a dealer who substituted
tuna salad sandwich oil for Blue Ribbon Conditioner on tokens viewed
"doing lunch". Also a large collection victimized by "travel-rub" and
"PyC-itis". Jerry reserves his greatest contempt for amateur coin
doctors who mean to be Dr. Kildare, but end up being Dr. Kevorkian
to their patients.
The Bobbes' Portland ANA Convention Exhibit contained 1080 tokens, about
one-third of their total collection, in 15 cases on black velvet pads
accompanied by computer-printed commentary on parchment paper. The
tokens were not labelled as to Dalton and Hamer variety.
Setup of the exhibit went smoothly, but for a few amusing glitches. All
Spence dies were meant to be illustrated, but "Pandora's breeches" was
somehow left behind. This omission, though, kept the overall exhibit
rated PG for Young Numismatists. As a treat for discriminating viewers,
Burchell's R-8 Middlesex 258, with incorrect "No. 78 Longacre" address,
was brought, but placed reverse up. This would have left such viewers
wondering, "Why are they showing us such a common reverse die design in
relatively poor condition?" Just before closing the “Hancock" case, an
onlooker, as described in the most recent Token Examiner, agitated Jerry
by pointing out a fly on Sir Original (Warwicksire 140). No flyswatter
was forthcoming. (The Token Examiner article did not reveal WHICH Sir
Original; three were put out, two in copper, mint red and semisweet chocolate,
and one brassy little fellow.) Many of Matthew Boulton's bronzed proofs were
displayed. Richard Doty, viewing this section, shook his head and advised
Jerry that one of the specimens, a bronzed Angusshire 18 (Dundee halfpenny
with the Flax-Heckling reverse) was a Kempson issue. Rare scenario, I'm sure.
Three of the Bobbes' favorite tokens, killer pieces all, were shown.
These included: "Danny Boy," Daniel Eccleston's semiunique Lancashire 56
Lancaster halfpenny (with obverse and reverse legends in raised letters),
acquired at the Farnell I sale and not the D and H plate coin; "The
Muffin Man,'' Middlesex 1009 (Sr. Harry Dimsdale Muffin Mercht/Elected Mayor
of Garrat 1796), acquired privately and ex:: Chetwynd-Davis (as in W. J. Davis,
"The Token Coinage of Warwickshire, 1895" and Sotheby's March, 1901, sale);
and Robert Orchard's Sawbridgeworth Penny, Hertfordshire 1, lot 196 and top
prize at the recent W. J. Noble auction. It realized $66,000 (Aust.) and
was widely reported in the Australian news media. Previously, Patrick Deane
won it at the 1983 TA Jan Sale. After making about thirty high-quality
electrotypes (apparently without inflicting damage on the original), he
sold it privately to Mr. Noble. Only three examples of the Sawbridgeworth
6. Exhibit viewing at the convention was uncomfortable. The floors were
hard and cold. Tables lacked chairs and lamps. A tiring glare on case
tops was created by the dim ceiling illumination. Surely both exhibitors
and viewers deserved better!
7. This omission would be my only criticism of their exhibit. True, there
were fewer labels and more tokens could be displayed. Also, despite wanting
to share their collection with others, the Bobbes are sometimes secretive
about the details of their holdings. "Over the years, the specific informa-
tion that we have revealed to others has ultimately been used against us."
In coin collecting, as in other of life's competitive arenas, it is "lonely
at the top.”
43
4a
penny are definitely known. The other two specimens (one in the
British Museum and one in the holdings of a London coin firm) are impaired.
Orchard's ultra high relief portrait has been stated to extend 4 mm above
the obverse planchet fields but in the copper it looks more like a
centimeter! To acquire THIS token, the Bobbes had to follow the great
RE Naftzger, Jr.'s dictum, "...if a really great coin eludes you, SHOW
PATIENCE AND PERSEVERE; it WILL turn up again."
Moving on, the exhibit showed several rare halfpenny varieties that are
remarkably similar in design to common tokens: Middlesex 475a (Francis
Shackelton's "LODON" token); Suffolk 18 (Sharon's "o o" variety, as both
sword and sheath point to "o"s in the legends);and Angusshire 27 (slightly
smaller, sharper, more prooflike and without periods in contrast to the
dead common Angusshire 28).
A complete set of Globe pennies in pristine mint red highlighted the
building medalets case.
Two “superstruck" dies were illustrated. One was John Gregory Hancock,
Jr.'s Warwickshire 15 uniface trial of the William Pitt obverse (fig. 3),
",..in order to bring the obverse strike to full sharpness our young lad
placed an unknown medal underneath the uniface side, creating a fabulous
brockage of a large military bust." The other was Middlesex 802, "...a
brockage-maker on the Oddfellows side, struck on a huge splayed-out
flan which, because of the added pressure in the coining chamber at the
time of striking, has the sharpest and greatest CAT of all time." The cat
was Spence's symbol of freedom. As per his directive, both cat and
"meridian sun'' tokens were placed in his coffin on Sept. 8, 1814.
The silver tokens were truly breathtaking and included the highly prized
London Corresponding Society's medallic Middlesex 203 (fig. 4). Also shown
were silver halfpennies of varieties normally seen in copper: Brimscombe
Port Gloucestershire 61 (Thames and Severn Canal/Tunnel Entrance); Middlesex
302b (Forster's); Middlesex 470 (Nothing Venture Nothing Have/Richardson
Goodluck & Co); Middlesex 1011 (Erskine and Gibbs); Norfolk 13 (Norwich
Castle/Good Times Will Come); and Hoxne Suffolk 33a (Dismounted Yeoman/
Castle Within A Garter).
The Bobbes are fond of overstrikes with clear undertypes and showed off
a brilliant red Surrey 1 (Sr. George Cook/...Fruiterer...Oyster Merchant
.--) Struck over a Somersetshire camel penny and a red gem Yorkshire 1
(Bolton Castle/Time Destroys All Things) struck over an Anglesey penny.
Jerry and Sharon enjoy the challenge of deciphering striking errors. A
Warwickshire 242b Lady Godiva error they showed took THEM hours’ to
figure out. It turned out to be "...double struck over an off-center
reverse brockage."
One of the most interesting counterfeits was an Anglesey 14la. This
strange token, dated 1784 (Anglesey pennies were not released for circu-
lation until 1787) also lacks "on" in the edge lettering. Ideal targets
for counterfeiters, the Anglesey tokens were readily accepted country-wide and
much preferred to most copper then in circulation.
Figure 3. '"Superstruck" J. G.
Hancock, Jr. Warwickshire 15 from
the Bobbe collection. See text.
Compare with D and H plate.
Figure 5. Reverse of the Bobbes'
Middlesex 35. Perfection in copper.
Figure 4. One of many gem silver
issues in Jerry and Sharon's col-
lection, the ever-popular Middle-
sex 203 "Rooster."
Figure 6. Suffolk 8. Spectacular
Bobbe example of white metal uni-
face trial striking of Cardinal
Wolsey obverse.
AG
46
Superbly-preserved mules included the Fullerton-Swainson Ayrshire 8 and
the 1795 Liberty and Commerce, Talbot Allum and Lee die paired with
Blofield Cavalry (Norfolk 10) and with York Cathedral (Yorkshire 65).
A pseudomule was Anglesey 257, listed as a mule in Dalton and Hamer.
"It has the same obverse as Anglesey 8 (R-8), but the reverse is
used nowhere else in the series."
Dramatic die failure progressions were demonstrated with the Berkshire 1
Windsor halfpenny reverse and with the Meymott's (Middlesex 378 and
380-384), Village in Ruins (Middlesex 744-749) and Before the Revolution
(Middlesex 849-855) dies.
Jerry and Sharon believe that private tokens are the "royalty" of the
Conder series, representing the ultimate in beauty, rarity and provenance.
"Most of them were commissioned by passionate individuals in search of
numismatic immortality." They were usually gifts or trade-bait. The .
commonest private tokens are R-4 (74-200 known) and more than half of them
are rarer than an 1804 silver dollar (R-6, 13-30 known). Of the private
tokens and trial strikings shown in the Bobbes' exhibit, twenty~five
were R-8 (1-3 known)! Chronologically, the earliest private token was
Hackney Middlesex 309, by David Alves Rebello, struck in 1795;
the last was Middlesex 38, illustrating Robert Orchard's seventh and final
token protrait and struck in 1803. These near-perfect tokens were both
the die-work of Milton. Other drool-inducing private tokens included two
of "six struck" Buxton Derbyshire 1 (one perfect and one with broken reverse
die) and Lothian 6 (with University of Edinburgh in the exergue), one of
12 struck, a gem bronzed proof with broken obverse die, to boot. Also, two
"vultures" to die for: gem prooflike uncirculated examples of Middlesex 32c
(inner edge of rim finely milled) and Middlesex 32e (rim finely milled and
also indented.)
Other titillating tokens deserve at least brief mention: an amazing complete
run of Dorsetshire 2, 3, 4 and 5 (R. Allen Ironmonger, Poole, 1797);
Fowkes' Elmsthorpe halfpenny, Leicestershire 1 (Elmsthorp, in tin) and 2
(in bronzed proof); Middlesex 4 (Goodmans Feilds/...Three Half Pence) in unc.,
an as made Middlesex 24 restrike, with extensive die rust; the unique
Middlesex 34 (Spence Mendoza and Pandora's breeches halfpenny dies paired
on a penny flan); Middlesex 35 (Heads of Mendoza and Ward/ Two Men Boxing) in
MS 67 copper and CCi by 40 points (fig. 5); gem examples of Middlesex 191
and 202, which mate distinctive halfpenny portraits of George III and the
Duke of York, respectively, with the T. Gorton British Penny (1797) die
(these pairings concocted for sale to collectors by Skidmore); the popular
and bizarre Uncharitable Monopolizer/Charitable Hand Middlesex 239 in white
metal and copper and Middlesex 240 in white metal; Middlesex 339, Ibberson's
small boar, in gem unbronzed copper, which the Bobbes believe to be at
least RR; an “Oh, God!" bronzed proof Pidcock's Middlesex 439 (Rhinoceros/
Two-Headed Cow); gem copper strikings of RRR Warwickshire 7 and 9 (Great-
heads/As If From Temple Bar...); a really nifty set of four different
"Josephus" Priestley pennies (Warwickshire 32 silver, 32 Bis bronzed copper
(unique), 33 bronzed copper and 33 white metal); and the attorney George
Barker's enigmatic Warwickshire 69 Birmingham halfpenny with the head of
Mercury, in prooflike red uncirculated.
Finally, many desirable uniface trial die strikings reside in the
Bobbes' collection. Individual strikings include Anglesey 112, with
its unfinished acorn border and crisscross of die file lines; the unique
copper Hampshire 93, West Cowes halfpenny with draped bust of Fox;
Staffordshire la (plain edge), trial of Richard Wright's Lichfield penny
in memory of Richard Greene (here sans coat buttons and legends); and
Suffolk 8, white metal obverse trial of Cardinal Wolsey, fully struck on
a huge flan, with dramatic cud (fig. 6). Also a run of uniface obverse
trial Druid halfpennies, Anglesey 379, 381 in white metal (fig. 7) and
383 were all unique, gems, plated in Dalton and Hamer, and ex. Dalton!
Particularly resplendent were two unique sets of private tokens -
and die trials illustrating the work of John Gregory Hancock, Sr.
First, John Harding's Tamworth penny series: Staffordshire 6, 6 Bis,
6 Bis II (Davisson's 9 Bis), 7, 7a (white metal), 8, and 9 in copper and
silver. Second was George Barker's Birmingham halfpenny series: ©
Warwickshire 65 BisI, 65 BisII, 65 BisIII, 66 BisI, 66 BisII, 67a
bronzed proof, 67b (tin), 68 bronzed proof, 68 red proof, and 68 tin!!
This necessarily brief accounting has meant to give the reader some
appreciation of the quality and depth of the Bobbe Collection and
how it has evolved. Jerry and Sharon still have many holes to fill...
if they can obtain specimens that meet their lofty standards. In the
future, they plan to pen a "Waters-type" companion for Dalton and Hamer,
aspire to give a Conder Token ANA Summer Seminar in 1999, and will
probably have SMALLER exhibits. As time’s inevitable dimension
asserts itself, they want to be able to "pass the baton" to an ensuing
generation that will continue their passionate tradition of knowledge
and care. Asked if they were feeling some letdown now that Noble and
the 1998 ANA Convention have come and gone, they replied, enthusiasm
undiminished, "...after purchasing all the large lots of Irish tokens
in Noble we have found a new appreciation for the charming and crude
Camac halfpennies. Except for Dublin 42, they were made to be used,
being struck with cruddy dies on crappy planchets. So, on the ultra-
rare occasion of finding one in uncirculated or near-uncirculated con-
dition they still look like hell. We liken them to Vermont cents,
wherein a beautiful circulated example might be quite exciting. Forget
the “Office Boy" reverse or the "three errors," some of these have
dozens of errors, and appear to have been made during or after a
huge consumption of Guinness. Many dies are heavily pitted with rust,
leading us to believe that there may have been some spillage as well.
These tokens make us laugh."
Thanks, Mad Monarch and Lady G., for sharing your collecting zenith.
It is an unusual creation that could only have arisen with optimum
convergence of intrinsic sensibility, laboriously attained bedrock
knowledge, access to superb material, and sustained acquisitive drive.
The Conder series at the end of the twentieth century has two fine
champions.
Acknowledgements: The author is grateful to the Bobbes for sharing
much detailed information and for prepublication proofing of this
profile for accuracy. Sharon has become quite a photo buff lately,
and she supplied all of the figure illustrations.
47
48
Figure 7. Anglesey 381. Gorgeous unique white metal uniface obverse
die trial striking in the Bobbes' collection. Ex. Dalton.
Figure 8. Sharon and Jerry Bobbe during the six hour dismantling of
their unforgettably superb Conder Token exhibit at the 1998 Portland
ANA Convention.
Collector’s Cabinet
by
David S. Brooke
Bathing machines similar to those shown on the Lowestoft token carried
swimmers into the sea for almost two hundred years. These beach-huts-on-wheels first
appear in views of Scarborough (1735) and of Blackpool (1748), and were in common
use in the later eighteenth century. A “modesty hood” was introduced by Benjamin Beale
in 1753, and a convenient description of the improved model is found in Tobias
Smollett’s The Expedition of Hum Clinker (1770):
Imagine to yourself a small, snug, wooden chamber, fixed upon a wheel
carriage, having a door at each end, and, on each side, a little window above, a
bench below. The bather, ascending into this apartment by wooden steps, shuts
himself in, and begins to undress, while the attendant yokes a horse to the end
next to the sea, and draws the carriage forward until the water is on a level with
the floor of the dressing room, then he moves and fixes the horse to the other
end. The person within, being stripped, opens the door to the seaward, where
he finds the guide ready, and plunges headlong into the water ... A certain
number of the machines are fitted with tilts, that project from the seaward ends
of them, so as to screen the bathers from the view of all persons whatsoever.
The proprietors of such machines often provided waiting rooms where
refreshments and reading materials were provided. The Lowestoft versions were
apparently rather unusual since they were operated with a windlass rather than a horse
and incorporated a latticed enclosure or bath under the canopy.
Photographs of Victorian beaches show them to have been crowded with bathing
machines, some of which survived well into the twentieth century. The brawny and
enthusiastic attendants (often women), the apprehensive bathers and the cynical drivers
who had seen everything, were subjects for many caricatures in Punch. An amusing
poem, supposedly left by a lady in a machine of the late 1790s, celebrates “the wonderful
art of this little go-cart”:
A peg for your clothes, a glass for your nose,
And shutting the little trap door,
You are safe from the ken of those impudent men
Who wander about on the shore.
49
Nineteenth Century Farthings -- The “Bridge” Tokens
By: Tom Fredette, CTCC # 60
| just suppose that it makes good sense to keep going with a series once one
gets started, but the title of Dalton and Hamer’s “bible” of late eighteenth century
tokens is slightly in error. The reference contains a small number of what could be
called “cross-over” or “bridge” tokens. They bridge the gap between the two centuries.
And | wish this time to approach them from a different perspective -- that is: How are
they listed in W.J. Davis’ referenceThe Nineteenth Century Token Coinage ? They do
show that no matter how hard one tries, it is not always possible to fit everything into
neat categories. Even though this might have been a problem for Mr. Dalton and Mr.
Hamer, what’s an odd nineteenth century token or two?
For the purposes of this article, the tokens in question would be ail farthing
issues -- since | implied last time that | was going back to the farthing box. They would
be dated 1801 to 1804 to use the date designation from R.C. Bell’s Specious Tokens
and Those Struck for General Circulation 1784-1804. The discussion would of
necessity exclude the lead farthing issues of Scotland listed in Davis of which Waters
says that: “No information can be given about these 1/4 d tokens other than that in the
printed notes.”
Davis credits S.H. Hamer in the introduction to his book. What would it have
been like to have been a fly on the wall of the room in which these two gentlemen
were having a discussion?
The first issues of interest are Middlesex numbers 1061, 62 and 63. They are
three of the farthing issues of Robert Orchard. Number 1061 has an obverse inscrip-
tion which refers to Orchard as a grocer and tea dealer with the address of his shop.
Interestingly, Dalton and Hamer refer to the standing figure on the reverse as a “Turk”
while Davis calls him a “Chinaman.” Could it be that Davis and Hamer couldn’t agree
on this term? This token makes reference to the issuer being a”’maker of chocolate
and cocoa on a new principle.” The token is dated 1803. Number 1062 is not a dated
Orchard issue. Number 1063 shows us a bust of Orchard with the tea dealer descrip-
tion once again. The reverse show the 1062 reverse -- a four story building referred
to as his ‘tea warehouse.” This token is dated 1804. These farthings are listed in
Davis’ reference on page 78 as numbers 66 through 68.
Another farthing token series which begins in the eighteenth century and ends
in the nineteenth belongs to Pidcock. They are dated 1801 and strictly speaking, do
belong in the very first year of the nineteenth century. They are Dalton & Hamer
numbers 1069 - 1073. Pidcock didn't date his eighteenth century issues -- why did he
do so in the nineteenth century? Pidcock’s menagerie or zoo or spectacle is referred
to in Davis’ book. He quotes the LONDON MORNING CHRONICLE of May 17, 1808
which wrote of Pidcock’s show as:
The grandest spectacle in the universe is now prepared at Pidcock’s Royal Menagerie,
Exeter Change, Strand, where a most uncommon collection of Foreign Beasts and Birds,
many of them never before seen alive in Europe are ready to entertain the wondering
spectators. This affords an excellent opportunity for Ladies and Gentlemen to treat
themselves with a view of some of the most beautiful and rare animals in creation.
Amongst innumerable others are five noble African Lions, Tigers, Nyilghaws, Beavers
Kangaroos, Grand Cassowary, Emus, Ostriches &c. indeed such a numerous assemblage
of living Birds and Beasts may not be found for a century to come. This wonderful collection
is divided into three apartments at one shilling each person, or the three rooms for two
shillings and sixpence each person.
Would he have accepted the equivalent in his farthing tokens for the admission
price?
Number 1069 is listed in Davis as number 69 on p. 78. The obverse shows the
reclining lion (as D & H 1064) and on the reverse is a beaver. Number 1069 Bis.
which Is struck on a halfpenny is referred by Waters as a “workman’s freak.” On
number 1070 the obverse is the lion and on the reverse is the monkey known as the
wanderow or “wanderoo.” The wanderoo is a monkey worshipped by the natives of
the Indian Peninsula. This description comes from a little piece of paper that is in the
envelope with my farthing. Its origin is lost for me in the mists of time. Number 1071
is the beaver/cockatoo combination. Number 1072 is the beaver/pelican and number
1073 is the wanderow/pelican. These tokens are listed in The Nineteenth Century
Token Coinage on pages 78 and 79 as numbers 70 -- 73.
The last farthing to be written about is Middlesex number 1174, which is listed in
in the “Pro Bono Publico” section. It has the monogram initials HB on the obverse and
a tobacco cask on the reverse. There are several references in Dalton and Hamer to
issuers with the initials “HB”. Davis lists this piece under Non-local as number 116 on
page 260.
So even an eighteenth century purist would have a hard time collecting the
tokens of the eighteenth century without having to put a foot into the nineteenth. This
is especially true for the Pidcock issues which truly do represent the best of these
“bridge” tokens. This is one of the reasons why | am very interested in the tokens
which both pre-date as well as post-date the eighteenth century series. It is not
possible to ignore this connection. One cannot. Dalton and Hamer didn't and who
would want to anyhow?
References Cited
Davis, W.J., THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TOKEN COINAGE, Seaby/Durst
reprint edition, 1979.
Dalton, R. and S.H. Hamer, THE PROVINCIAL TOKEN COINAGE OF THE
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, Quarterman Publications !nc., 1977.
Waters, Arthur, W., NOTES ON EIGHTEENTH CENTURY TOKENS, Seaby’s
Numismatic Publications, 1954.
and once again -- thanks to R.C. Bell.
51
52
16/17, Dennetts Mui,
Birmingham, B2 5QJ,
England.
Ist October, 1998.
Mr. Wayne Anderson,
Conder, T.C.C.
Dear Sir,
May I say how much I enjoyed Dr. Doty's article on Inverness tokens, contained in Conder
No.9. However, perhaps I might be allowed to correct certain misapprehensions he appears to labour
under as regards the state of Soho Mint Die Technology. In the realm of die multiplication they were
far more advanced than he gives them credit for. For readers interested in a brief description of Soho's
method of multiplying dies see the Appendix to this letter (To be printed at the Editor's discretion).
Before commencing any coinage at Soho it was standard practice for a small reservoir of
working dies to be produced from the master or matrix dies. The number of working dies produced
varied enormously depending upon the quantity of coins to be struck. A small token order might only
justify a pool of half a dozen dies, but a major coinage order such as for the East India Company might
merit over one hundred dies on standby. It is this ability to perfectly clone any number of working
dies from one original matrix which is known as the complete hubbing of dies. It is Dr. Doty's
contention that the Soho Mint did not possess this capability in the 1790s, but I hope that the table
produced below proves otherwise. It demonstrates that in the majority of instances the Soho Mint die
hubbing process was sufficiently sophisticated to defeat the best endeavours of those inexhaustible
variety detectors Messrs. Dalton & Hamer. Also shown for information purposes is the charge made
against each coinage for the cost of engraving the original matrix dies. It will be observed that the
costs are substantially higher than the Guinea a die that Dr. Doty quotes as being the sum commonly
charged by Boulton at this period. In fact the only coinage that seems to answer this criteria is that for
Dundee (Croom) where the overall die charge has been minimised by the simple austere reverse
bearing a six line inscription.
Token Date Denomination Approximate D&H Matrix Die
Mintage Number Charge
Anglesey (Parys Mine Co) 1791 ld 34,320 DH255 -
Comwall (Cornish Copper Co) 1791 1/2d 76,070 DH2 -
Southampton (Taylor & Moody) 1791 1/2d 194,255 DH89 £271,0:0.*
Glasgow (Shearer) 1791 1/2d 483 552 DH2 £21.0:0.*
Inverness (Mackintosh Inglis, etc.) 1793 1/2d 122,577 DH1 £4.4.0.
Inverness (Mackintosh Inglis, etc.) 1794 1/2d 96,668 DH2 -
Lancaster (Daniel Eccleston) 1794 1/2d 87,868 DHS57 (DH58 is DH57 £5.5;0;
repolished with parts
of design erased)
Penryn Volunteers 1794 1/2d 16,290 DH4 £5.5.0.
Bishops Stortford 1795 1/2d 22,480 DH4 £4.4.0.
Hornchurch (1795) 1/2d 10,563 DH33-34 £8.8.0.
Inverness (Mackintosh Inglis, etc.) 1795 1/2d 79,316 DH3 -
Dundee (Croom) (1795-96) 1/2d 52,565 DH12-13 £7.2.0;
DH14-15 with their plain
rounded edges are not
typical Soho Mint stnikings
Inverness (Mackintosh Inglis, etc.) 1796 1/2d 82,530 DH4-5 ~
The more astute reader may realise that there are a couple of omissions from the above list
which at first sight do not support the writer's opinion with regard to Soho's die hubbing capability.
They are as follows:-
Anglesey (Parys Mine Co) 1791 1/2d 1,150,784 DH386-391 -
Leeds (Brownbill) 1793 1/2d 179,410 DH31-41 £10.10.0.*
* Although these die charges seems abnormally high, it might have been a method of encouraging large token orders. In
all instances the charges were correspondingly reduced by 2 Guineas for every ton of coinage struck.
The two coinages referred to above share the common characteristic of having been struck from
concocted dies. In the case of the 1791 Anglesey Halfpenny the dies were derived from matrices of
the Anglesey 1789 Halfpenny. All the varieties listed by Dalton & Hamer appertain to the modified
reverse where the old date has been removed from the Punch and 1791 inserted into the individual
working dies. A similar situation arose with the Leeds Brownbill token. Late modifications to the
design were incorporated in the working dies rather than going to the additional expense of engraving
new matrices. Thus on the obverse we find a wool-comb being added to the plain Bishop Blaze of
DH29. Whilst on the reverse, foliage was introduced into the bare background of DH30. These
additions allow individual dies to be recognised. For the Brownbill coinage it gives an indication of
how many working dies would typically be used in the production of 179,410 tokens. As so often
happens it is the exception which helps prove the rule. By 1791 the Soho Mint had perfected the art
of. die hubbing to such an extent that they had succeeded in ensuring that all coins of a certain
denomination were virtually identical. If desired, Boulton possessed means to go even further! With
the aid of Dupeyrat's polygraphic or portrait lathe - the precursor of the modern reducing machine - he
was capable of extending this uniformity of design across a range of denominations.
With best regards,
er Yeo
David Vice
APPENDIX
Of all the areas of the Soho Mint, it was the Die Department where Matthew Boulton's personal
influence was most keenly felt. Right from the start of his steam operated coining press he was very
conscious that he was being punished for his very efficiency. His Soho coining machines were so
much faster than the conventional press that his dies required changing at shorter time intervals. It was
therefore imperative that significant advances be made both in the speed of production of new dies and
then in extending their subsequent life cycle. Without these improvements much of the benefits of
faster coining presses would be eroded away.
Central to Boulton's task was finding the most suitable form of die steel to be utilised. His
ideal was to find a material which was both soft and malleable in its annealed condition, but extremely
hard when it was heated and quickly quenched. These requirements were best answered by Benjamin
Huntsman's newly produced crucible steel. Bars of this steel arrived at Soho where they were forged
and cut off into the lengths of a die. If the forged die blank is to be used to create a master die or
original matrix, the piece of steel is turned to a flat end then strengthened by driving a carefully welded
ring of hot iron onto it.
The die blank is then given to the engraver who prior to embarking on his intricate and delicate
task softens the steel a little to make it more manageable. Then using various miniature hand chisels
with a flicking motion of his wrists he makes a series of incuse cuts to form the required design. On
completion the die undergoes a range of heat treatments. The die is first hardened and then tempered to
remove the accompanying brittleness. After a final polish the master die was now quite capable of
striking coins, but this was not its primary function. Indeed it was too valuable to be frittered away in
such a frivolous manner. It had a far more important role to play, namely, acting as a blueprint for the
cloning of many hundreds of look-a-like working dies. This it accomplished in the following manner:-
Hand Engraved ~ Negative Incuse Matrix (Master Die or Original Die)
~ Positive Punch in Relief
-~ Working Dies Negative Incuse
Coins Positive In Relief
Conical Shaped
Punch Blank
S32
54
The negative incuse matrix die was forged upon another steel die blank to create a positive
relief working punch. The die steel to be used for creating the punch underwent the following
treatment.
]. Forging.
2. Turning to give a conical shaped end rather than a flat one. The degree of conicality given
to the punch was dependent upon the depth of engraving on the matrix die. The greater the
depth the greater the conicality.
. Anneal by heating hot in boxes.
. Brush bright.
. Strike in a multiplying press (i.e. heavy duty coining process). The punch blank was
placed in the top position of the press and the matrix requiring multiplying in the bottom
position.
6. Repeat steps 3 - 5 as many times as deemed necessary. On the initial blow of the press the
conical portion of the punch takes up just the centre of the engraving on the matnx. With
each succeeding blow the punch takes up more of the design as it expands radically across
the table of the dies. This process is repeated until the complete table including the lettering
has been taken up by the punch.
7. Examine and repair.
8. Turn to size in a lathe.
9. Harden and temper in oil.
tn BW
The positive relief working punch was now ready to be forged upon yet another steel die blank
to create a negative incuse working die and it was this which was subsequently used to strike the
coins. The process used was basically as described above except that it was much more easily
accomplished. Considerably less effort was required to get the metal to flow in a downwards direction
than upwards. |
Although others were capable of multiplying just the central portion of the design, Boulton
appears to have pioneered the complete hubbing of dies. He succeeded where others failed because of
his systematic experimentation. He was prepared to test the new improved steels using advanced heat
treatment techniques until he found the requisite blend. He was never satisfied with any solution.
Different steels from new sources were continually tried. All the die blanks were stamped with a code
which referred to the batch of steel from which they were forged. By analysing their subsequent
performance under the press he was able to choose which to discard and which to persevere with. By
this gradual process he was able to continuously upgrade his steel and thereby extend die life.
Dear Mr. Anderson,
I found this ad in the December, 1937 issue of "The Coin Collector's Journal", and I
thought you'd enjoy it. It might also make an interesting one page item in the CTCC
journal.
Best wishes,
Mike Grogan
CTCC #48
December, 1937
en ee ee Seer
C eet
A SPECIAL COLLECTION OF
200 ENGLISH TOKENS OF THE
i8th AND 19th CENTURIES
Recent purchases have enabled us to
prepare several of these special collec-
tions. These are not the ordinary run of
cheap pieces, many of them being pedi-
greed and having a long established
value of several dollars or more each.
Fach piece is in either uncirculated or
proof condition and there are no dupli-
cates. The collection is contained in the
EASY DISPLAY SYSTEM, and is care-
fully attributed.
lt would cost several times this amount
: to buy each piece separately and we
doubt if many of them are ever offered
AAMUADALIARRAREAREMARADAIRALELAARAIISS URL RAMOGRRORIGUMIUURRAREIRIARSIM RINE ERAL IAS RAE RATAN D
for sale in the present day market.
The Collection of 200 Tokens
Post Free $50.00
WAYTE RAYMOND, INCORPORTED
580 Fifth Avenue, New York
CRITeTTeTE
NOTICE TO ALL
I have been selected and answered the call.
_ But I leave a legacy which survives mortality.
Meanwhile, I shall appeal to the highest tribunal
to aid those I left behind.
Donald L. Peifer
who passed peacefully from this dimension
August Twenty Fifth, Nineteen Hundred Ninety Eight
56
Ex Libris
I’m sure we all wish that we could have attended the Noble Sale in Melbourne, Australia.
However, as a token event of that magnitude is unlikely to present itself in the near
future, your CTCC Library has the next best thing. Jim Noble has been gracious enough
to present us with the hardbound version of the sale. Limited to just 30 copies (ours
being #29), this handsome volume is bound in sturdy blue cloth with gilt lettering on the
spine and front cover. It contains the magnificent Catalogue of the Noble Collection
along with a special errata sheet and the complete prices realized. It is inscribed, “For
the CTCC Library. This catalogue will always bring joy to my heart and fond memories
of our little copper treasures. Good collecting dear members. Jim Noble 21/8/98”.
Thank you, Jim Noble, for your generosity and for your great contribution to our hobby
over the years.
Michael Grogan CTCC #48 writes, “I recently purchased a set of The Coin Collector’s
Journal published by Scott Stamp and Coin Company. The journals contain a series of
articles over several years by H. R. Stephens entitled, Sightseeing in the British Isles via
Conder Tokens’. Michael was kind enough to make two copies of the relevant articles
and donate them to the library. They are quite interesting and difficult to find’as a
complete set. Thank you Michael!
Last and certainly least (but really appreciated!), Cliff Fellage made a cash donation to
the library. This brings our total bankroll to $111.32. Let me know if their is a particular
item that you think the library should consider purchasing.
Photographs of the obverse and reverse of the 1787 shaved and engraved reverse shilling which was purchased by Jim
Noble (from his own auction, part lot #1989), and donated by him to the CTCC. Photography courtesy of Sharon Bobbe.
a
58
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Australia
California
Canada
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
England
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
NUMBER
ROANKHHABH~! AN! Haw snnnnn
MEMBERSHIP LOCUS REPORT
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio .
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Wales
Washington
Washington, DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
(Total United Kingdom =
VUNG! BWHHAANKHSHKYWBAWANAHAGS
27 see above).
TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTIVE MEMBERS, 234
303
304
NEW MEMBERS
NAME
Q. David Bowers
Steve Briscombe
Stephan J. Reids
N. G. Brodie
P. Glews
A. T. MacMillan
D. Pennock
M. J. Roberts
A. J. Wagner
D. M. Young
George Sherman
Dr. Gary Sriro
CITY & STATE
Wolfeboro, NH
San Carlos, CA
Dunedin, FL
Glasgow, Scotland
Dudley, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
Kent, England
Huddersfield, England
Sutton Coldfield, Eng.
Somerset, England
Altadena, CA
Villa Park, CA
THE TOKEN EXCHANGE ann MART
OUR RULES: CTCC members, in good standing, are cordially invited to dispatch their ar-
ticles and advertisements to the CTCC editor for publication in the JOURNAL. Articles
are always needed and appreciated. Articles do not have to be camera ready, but I appre-
ciate it when they are camera ready, and they are always published free of charge for the
benefit of the membership. Advertisements are needed and appreciated just as much, and
up to twelve (12) lines are FREE! Full page ads are $75.00, one half page ads are $37.50.
Ads larger than the free twelve (12) line ads must be camera ready. All paid ads must be
paid for when submitted; thus, eliminating the possibility for confusion, and the need for
costly, unnecessary, and time consuming billings and follow up. The Club operates on a
cash basis. Ads submitted without full payment will not be accepted or published. The
content of ads and articles shall be limited to "Conder" tokens, and related numismatic lit-
erature, coins, tokens, and collectibles. Ads or articles may either be accepted or rejected
at the discretion of the editor. All articles and ads must be accompanied by your member-
ship number. Only members can participate in the journal and all other Club activities.
The Club rules are designed to be simple and few, please comply with them. The deadline
for the MARCH 15th, 1999 issue is FEBRUARY 25th, 1999. Journals are issued quar-
terly. Your articles and ads must be sent to the president and editor: Wayne Anderson, PO
Box 1853, Maple Grove, MN 55311-6853. The only requirement for membership is the
initial payment of an annual membership fee of $25 US or £16 sterling. You will be billed
again after you have received four issues of the journal. The "Conder" Token Collectors
Club reserves the right to accept or reject (without explanation) any application for mem-
bership. The "Conder" Token Collectors Club, and/or its president, reserves the right to
revise these rules at any time for the good of the club and its members.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE $25 US, OR £16 STERLING.
NOTICE: The "Conder" Token Collectors Club, publisher of The "Conder" Token Collec-
tors Journal, assumes no responsibility or liability for advertisements or articles published
in the journal. No party shall have recourse against The "Conder" Token Collectors Club,
or its officers, officials, or appointees for any reason associated with the publication of its
journal. All transactions arising from or relating to advertisements in The "Conder" Token
Collectors Journal are strictly between the parties to their transactions. Complaints con-
cerning advertisers or respondents should be directed to the president of The "Conder" To-
ken Collectors Club. Complaints can result in termination of membership, or termination
of advertising privileges, or both.
Directory Of "CTCC" Officers & Appointees:
Wayne Anderson
President, Editor & Publisher For all business, letters, inquiries, articles, ads,
PO Box 1853 suggestions, complaints, and information
Maple Grove, MN 55311-6853 concerning the CTCC.
Phone 612-420-6925, Fax 612-420-3350
Joel Spingarn
Vice President & Treasurer For payment of dues and donations; address
PO Box 782 | changes. Dues are $25 per year, journals are
Georgetown, CT 06829 always sent to you via first class mail.
Phone & Fax 203-544-8194
David S. Brooke, Historian Harold Welch, Librarian
767 N. Hoosac Road 655 Parkwood Circle
Williamstown, MA 01267 St. Paul, MN 55127
Phone 413-458-8636 Phone 612-429-0997
Clifford C. Fellage, Assistant Editor Mailing Preparation
PO Box 911 & Distribution
Farmington, CT 06034-0911 James Wahl &
1-860-676-0023 Wilfred Wahl
cn
60
Free Advertisements
These Ads, 12 lines or less, are free for "CTCC" members. Send yours to:
Wayne Anderson, PO Box 1853, Maple Grove, MN 55311-6853.
ae 3k SESE Ie ERE EE EEE EE EE EEL ERES PEERS ELE EE EERE ELAEEE EEE LEE ELELE LEASES AES
CHARLES KIRTLEY
CTCC #125
"“CONDER" TOKENS, COLONIAL COINS, HARD TIMES TOKENS, AND ALL SORTS
OF INTERESTING MATERIAL APPEAR IN MY ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY
MAIL BID SALES. WRITE OR CALL FOR A FREE COPY OF THE NEXT ISSUE.
CHARLES E. KIRTLEY, "CTCC" #125, PO BOX 2273C,
ELIZABETH CITY, NC 27906-2273. PHONE: 252-335-1262. FAX: 252-335-4441.
E-Mail: ckirtley @ coastalnet.com
EELALELELELALFLELEFELELFELELEAELELEL EEL FEL EFELEL ES FELEL SELES ELELE EEE FESEEELE |
BILL MCKIVOR'S COPPER CORNER
FIXED PRICE LISTS --- "Conders" --- Evasions --- HTT --- Fun Stuff!
December issue out NOW!
Call or write TODAY to be put on my mailing list.
Bill McKivor CTCC #3 PO Box 46135 Seattle, WA 98126
Phone, evenings only, (206) 244-8345
E-Mail Condernut @ juno.com
FEEALELEFLLELLESELEFALELESFLEL ESAS FAEEAE LEELA ELAESALELELEFAEESAESAEEEESALELE
17TH, 18TH, AND 19TH CENTURY BRITISH TOKENS
EVASION COPPERS
FREQUENT PRICE LISTS BY E-MAIL OR REGULAR MAIL
Simon Cordova (CTCC #30), PO Box 2229, Kihei, Hawaii 96753-2229.
Phone: 808-891-2846, Fax: 808-891-2365, E-Mail: sicordova @aol.com
$EEEEEAEFERE SEE ESEEEEFEELELE EE ESEESAEELELELEELERRELELEEAELEREEEESEERESEEEEESE
Jerry & Sharon Bobbe, CTCC #4 & #5. We have been enthusiastically pursuing "Conders"
for over 25 years. Our price list, The Token Examiner, was born of a passion for this ex-
citing series, and a desire to share it with others. As collectors, we appreciate fine serv-
ice, SO we're not happy until you are. We'll do our best to fulfill your collecting needs.
Our specialties are choice quality, rarities, and die-states, but our Token Exammner offers
pieces Circ - Gem for $12 and up. If you haven't received your free copy of The Token
Examiner, call or write us today. We buy singles, groups or entire collections (i.e.,
Eklund, Blaisdell), and pay the strongest prices for choice quality and rarities. If you have
tokens to sell, your consideration would be greatly appreciated.
The Token Examiner PO Box 25817 Portland, Oregon 97298 503-626-1075
HECERERERSRLSEERELELELSEEELELECLRLEE ERE CLE EEE YEA EE ee EE Ie
* + * SEASONS GREETINGS * * *
- FROM -
CLIFF FELLAGE, CTCC #165, & "CLIFF'S 'CONDER' CHEST"
PO BOX 911,
FARMINGTON, CT 06034-0911
- Send for my new special Holiday list of choice tokens, with many new
acquisitions from the Noble Sale in Australia -
- PHONE: 860/676-0023 - FAX: 860/676-0853
NET: http://www.s ite 1.com/cliffs. -
FEELELELL FLEA LLSSSEL ELE LLESESELEFLELESAE LESTE
Rod Burress, CTCC #109, 9743 Leacrest, Cincinnati, OH 45215
Write for price list of copper collectors supplies:
Heavy duty 2x2 envelopes, cotton liners, good quality boxes,
cleaners, brushes, magnifying glasses, etc.
I also have some "Conder" tokens for sale!
Phone 513-771-0696
FELESEEEAELESL FEES ESEEFELELELEFELELELELESEELELELELEEFELEEELELELESESELELEL ELST
Send for my sale or trade list of duplicate British tokens and my token want list.
I like Spence tokens!
I want Berkshire 19th Century silver 40 shillings token (Davis #2).
James C. Case, CTCC #21, 10189 Crane Road, Lindley, NY 14858-9719
EEAEEEL ELSA SELL LELELE EEE ELE FLELELEFFELELSFELELFELELESESELELELETEL ESSELTE FEF
FREE TO ALL CLUB MEMBERS
TOKEN LIST: An interesting assortment of high quality Eighteenth Century Tokens.
RARE MAPS: Seventeenth to Nineteenth Century.
The only source for Custom Made Mahogany coin/ token cabinets.
Hand produced by Peter Nichols in England. Full color brochure and price list available.
You will not believe how a Mahogany tray can show off copper, Still very affordable!
DAVE MCDONALD, PO BOX 2150, WESTMINSTER, MD 21158
Toll free 888-876-6226 (evenings) DBMCD@EROLS.COM
EEREEAEEELEEAELEEFALESAESEELLE EAE EFAEELEELEEE EEL EES EEEEELEELLESE EEL ESEESE EFF
Looking for UNC. SPECIMEN OF YORKSHIRE D & H 65 (York Cathedral / Talbot,
Allum, & Lee Mule}. Also UNC. "SPENCE TOKENS" by type - looking for one of each
die he used. Would appreciate receiving lists from anybody having these for sale.
David L. Palmer CTCC #107
1080A Long Island Ave.
Deer Park, NY 11729
SSESKSESSEEESEECSKRESEKES ELAS CES ELCES RELL ES EERKLEKAKERKELE SKE SRERH LEE SCSEAEEESESELEC ELE SEEK KES SEERA AKEA EEE
164 PAGE ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE
The latest edition of our catalogue of numismatic items for sale (that has been issued
regularly for 32 years) is now ready. It includes thousands of British tokens as well as
commemorative medals and coins from all over the world. The catalogue is free on re-
quest, but please include $2 to cover airmail postage when applying to the address below
(with apologies for its un-American length).
WHITMORE, CTCC #264 TEYNHAM LODGE CHASE Rd. Colwall
MALVERN Worcs. WR13 6DT ENGLAND
FEREEALEAELAEAE ELE ELELEELEFFEFEEFELFEFEELELELEELEELESEELEELELLELS ELESTEESE ELE
ED HAZENBERG, CTCC # 80, PO BOX 191, ADA, MI 49301
FOR SALE :
1. Somerset - 83, MS-64+. P/L fields with matte devices. Choc. Br. Great token. $70
2. Warwickshire - 86 Bis. Fine, clean surfaces, choc. br., with letter from the
Bobbe's confirming attribution. $40
3. Wark's. - 175, MS-63+. Lt. stain right obv., with red peeking through here and
there, sharp detail. $60
4_ Wark's. - 197a, MS-64. Nice brown with tinges of red, and choice surfaces. $65
5. Ireland, Dublin - 308, MS-63. Lt. an tee faintly peeking out. Nice piece. $55
ireland, Munster - 8a, & Dublin - 22, In Mint State.
SSCL EESE CES ay EES EE EE SELE ELE
See
61
Paul J. Bosco, CTFTCC F102
When in NYC, visit my "coin" store. Perhaps 1000 "Conders" (500 different?) in stock.
I still have by far the largest world token stock anywhere. No lists at present.
Mon. - Sat. llish to 6 (but it's wise to call first).
1050 Second Avenue, Store 89, New York, NY 10022
212/PJ8-COIN
CRECREELESRELKEEAREL EEE EEEELLESLELLESLELRA LES ELELE ERLE EREELEEREERSESLECELESE
Arthur W. Waters' Token Coinage of South London
I have prepared a special reprint of waters' classic work. Originally issued in a limited
edition of only 100 copies, the 1904 edition is quite rare and very expensive when it can
be obtained. The 1998 2nd edition was limited to a total of 25 numbered and signed cop-
ies - no more will be issued. It includes the foldout broadside and fine plates as in the
original. Printed on acid free 100% cotton paper and sturdily hardbound in attractive ma-
roon cloth, it is my intention that it (like the original) will be enjoyed by collectors for
many years to come. Only five remain. The price is $65 postpaid.
Harold Welch 655 Parkwood Circle St. Paul, MN 55127
Note: I have one nice, sound copy of Kent's "British Metallic Coins and Tradesmen's To-
kens", including the Supplement. An important and scarce work. $125 postpaid.
FEEEEALLELESLLLEL LES EALEEEEEALLEELELFELAL ELF LLL ELELEEELAE ELE ELELEL FEELS TELS
TONY FEIN - PROFESSIONAL NUMISMATIST
Fixed Price Lists 11 - 12 times a year.
My latest list of numismatic items for sale is now ready.
It includes thousands of items, "Conder" Tokens, World Tokens and Medals,
Medievai coins, Hammered coinage and Ancients.
| AM ALSO BUYING ALL BETTER MATERIAL!
Please call or write, or ship with your price, for my generous offer.
It will be worthwhile!
TONY FEIN CTCC #278 PO BOX 17672, CLEARWATER, FL 33762-0672
PHONE/FAX 727-536-7475 3:00PM -9:00 PM EST
BREESE E
PHIL FLANAGAN, CTCC #9
YES, EVERYONE HAS TOKENS FROM THE NOBLE COLLECTION, BUT IF YOU
DON'T, OR YOU WANT MORE - BE SURE THAT YOU RECEIVE MY NEXT LIST
(COMING SOON)!
CALL 1-800-613-8731
OR WRITE TO:
PHIL FLANAGAN, PO BOX 1288, COUPEVILLE, WA 98239
FELLEEELELEEALELSELSELSELELALELEFLFEESLESLELLSELELSEEEAL ELE ESELFLEEALEPELA EELS
WANTED - TWO BOOKS, ONE COPY OF EACH.
"SPECIOUS TOKENS and THOSE STRUCK for GENERAL CIRCULATION
1784 - 1804", by R. C. BELL - NEWCASTLE, 1968, 258 PAGES.
"NOTES ON EIGHTEENTH CENTURY TOKENS", by A. WATERS -
SEABY 1954, 54 PAGES - SOFT COVER.
CLIFFORD A. MOSS CTCC #265
25 PARKWOOD DRIVE
DALY CITY, CA 94015
ESEESSSCCSSLE CELE SSLESL SSS ESLAVLALESL EEE EEEESE EERE
SE PLELES
BILL McKIVOR’S CTCC #3
COPPER CORNER
Specializing in Conder tokens, English and Irish Evasion tokens, British medals,
19™ Century tokens, coin weights, counterfeits, American Hard Times tokens, and
unusual items of historical interest. “SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE”
Lists sent about four to five times a year.
The Conder tokens featured are nice tokens in all grades, Fine to UNC. Try me for
quality, service, and price. Lots of satisfied customers---and your satisfaction
guaranteed, as well. My customers tell me the lists, though sporadically produced,
are “fun”. Fun and satisfaction is my goal. Friends are nice to have.
x
so don’t miss any more of them-------- a
THE LISTS ARE FREE---SEND FOR YOURS TODAY,
Bill McKivor, PO Box 46135 Seattle, WA 98126
OR PHONE------(206) 244-8345
OR E-MAIL-----condernut@juno.com
do it now-----do it now-----do it now----do it-)
JOEL SPINGARN, C.T.C.C.2, P.O.B.782, GEORGETOWN,CT. 06829
TOKENS FOR SALE
Cambridge DH lil,unc, bronzed, brilliant ex-Bobbe,$650
Essex DH 35,GXF, toned, ex-Noble, Lot 106,$150
Hampshire DH 27,sharp unc. mint bloom small tic hat. $175
Kent DH 42,GXF, toned, horse & dray, nice, interesting $125 |
Middlesex DH 25, XF,toned,ex-Davisson Lot 447 $150
. DH 39,unc,toned,St. Pauls, with date $95
. DH 226,unc.70% red, few spots, nice, $150
7 DH 253,beautiful toned unc.ex-Noble $275
a DH 286,XF, toned, nice clean piece $50
4 DH 710,GXF, toned,ex-Eklund, nice, $125
DH 760, unc. toned,ex-Noble,thick flan,nice $325
. DH 837,toned unc,ex-Lincoln,almost gem $295
¥ DH 889b,toned unc, liberty pole,lion, nice,$150
" DH 1012, 50%red,rarely found this nice, $95
Suffolk DH 27,unc, almost full luster,lovely piece,$95
Sussex DH 6, red and brown unc. ex-Davisson, $175
Warwickshire DH 120, lovely red & brown unc. $150
i DH 315,unc,many cracks,nicer than Noble,$475
Anglesey DH 435,red & brown unc. small flan void, $135
Angusshire DH 23,nice toned unc. brilliant, $150
Wicklow DH 18,brilliant proof,ex-Whyte as FDC,$175
another DH 18 brilliant proof FDC, $210
For additional information, call or fax 203-544-8194
E-Mail address spin@gateway.net
Tokens sent on approval to CTCC members. Any returns OK.
| A.H.BALDWIN & SONS LTD.
Cstablished 1872
11 Adelphi Terrace, London WC2N 6BJ, United Kingdom
Dealers in Coins, Medals & Tokens
ot x re
A wide range of Eighteenth Century Tokens in stock -
please send your "Wants Lists" to:
Tim Millett
Tel: 00 44 171 930 6879 Fax: 00 44 171 930 9450
BRITISH TRADE TOKENS
Largest Price-List Yet!
Write to me for my free price-list
whichis NOW available.
Anyone wishing to receive a copy of what I've managed
to acquire from the Noble auction in Australia is very
welcome - simply contact me at the address below, or
| feel free to call me or send me a fax at the phone number
also listed below. If you're calling from the US, please
use the number designated for your dialing convenience.
This is definitely a ‘once only' selection!
RICHARD GLADDLE
9 CORK STREET
LONDON WiX 1PD
| TEL & FAX: 01327 858511 - DIAL DIRECT FROM THE US - 011-44-132-785-8511
---CLIFF’S. “CONDER” CHEST---
---SOME HOLIDAY SPECIALS---
CLIFF FELLAGE, BOX 911, FARMINGTON, CT 06034-0911.
PHONE: (860) 676-0023 FAX: (860) 676-0853.
NEW CHOICE SELECTIONS, MANY FROM THE NOBLE SALE. CALL TO RESERVE!
ESSEX, CHELMSFORD 5. 1/2d, 1794. Nice choice redish-brown Unc. Ex: Noble, Lot 94.......0.000. $115
ESSEX, DUNMOW 22a. 1/2d, 1794. Scarce. Choice red and brown Unc. Ex: Noble #101........0.0..00.000000... $220
HAMPSHIRE, TALBOT ALUM & LEE MULE 53. 1/2d, 1793. Nice red/orown Au-Unc. Ex: Noble #161......6325
LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL 107b. 1/2d, 1793. Choice red & brown Unc. 2 mast cuds. Ex: Noble #237.....$110
MIDDLESEX, PIDCOCK’S 415b. 1/2d, 1795. (Lion/Eagle). Ch. lustrous red & brown Unc. Ex: Noble, #499.$129
MIDDLESEX, PIDCOCK’S 418.1/2d, 1796. (Elephant/Tiger). Choice, lustrous and proof-like, red & brown Unc.
TE INO a I hess gh ccicign tin wins eal cain dele Hs cciteg ate om wale a a es Cn ain naan caine eae Ae Tendied sane oraatoea MR howd aa rea $229
MIDDLESEX, PIDCOCK’S 422. 1.2d. Scarce. (Elephant/T wo-Headed Cow). Very choice, lustrous and proof-
like, red & tan Unc. Ex: Noble, BQO cosvscryanacustnn df desiosnanseuisscéuvdatudieantuacivucieauslt acndganivcesvceart hse goRe: $179
MIDDLESEX, SKIDMORE’S CHURCHES & GATES 564. 1/2d. (St. James Clerkenwell). Choice, mostly red
& tar’ proof-like Une. .Die CrackrvaNndy CUGs. 8% <..:.ccvccsecnsencerseseveccvaesseachsuvevscoensasacquonrcausvepedscrassosvcvsuapadédvoune $99
MIDDLESEX, SKIDMORE’S CHURCHES & GATES 595.1/2d. (St. Andrews Holborn). Gem red/brown Unc.
PISS IMS MN Neg Ne Seren aaeainc sans ange iagats Museu co diasaeusdudatesansaagee shauegeaned Wiraas Maat agteaucctien iseeasecles $99
MIDDLESEX, SKIDMORE’S CHURCHES & GATES 650.1/2d. (Bishopgate 1733). Choice, proof-like red &
tary WiC? Bee NODS AiO C228 iscsi cide Bowen hatdis cana te Moctinnnnnccdddaawaciesmezancsvcuutsebeaheset<sveatecigsieaniteds $89
MIDDLESEX, SKIDMORE’S CHURCHES & GATES 653. 1/2d, 1796. (Cripplegate). Choice, full red, nearly
GEM: Drool-like Vine. EX: NODIE. FOB? ccc sek dasenc spans oustovieccesetdvidecededsentscdacvegcccccvswesebekesececel exceed siavincwsieeds $99
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 726a. 1/2d, 1790. (British Liberty Displayed/Boxers). Rare. Die State Il, two rows of
impressed dentils obverse. Choice, proof-like red & tan Unc., with blue toning..................cccceeeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeees $425
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 749. 1/2d, 1795. (Village In Ruins). Die State i], cracked from treetop to dentils over
“S”. Choice proof-like red & brown Unc. Noble after auction duplicate Sale.................0...cccccceceeseecceeteeeeeeeeees $329
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 749. 1/2d, 1795. (Village In Ruins). Die State Ill, cracked from treetop to dentils over
“GR”. Choice red & brown Unc. Noble after auction duplicate sale........ 00. le eecc cee se eee ceneceeneceeceeeenenes $299
The next four tokens, (776-779), are from the best Spence lot in the Noble Sale.
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 776. 1/2d, 1793. (Lord George Gordon/Caduceus). Choice, mostly red proof-like Unc.
EX cI WINN 78 NODE SO so cies n us See consis nw sess sews tes ss Meese sake heb aemdneuags Readies vee asbsadtadean cebdchacete vsesen $325
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 777. 1/2d, 1793. (Lord George Gordon/Heart In Hand). Very choice, nearly fully red &
tan proof-like Unc. Ex: Baldwin, ‘78; Noble, #606........000 00.0. ccc cece cece eee ce cence cece eeceesceeseeneseeseaacensaeeeetees $425
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 778. 1/2d, 1793. (Lord George Gordon/Cain Slaying Abel). Choice, nearly full red and
tan proof-like Unc. Ex: Baldwin, ‘78; Noble, #606... 00000000 cc ce cccrecaccpecececueerssuecnececersusseecuseeeeeues $350
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S 779. 1/2d, 1793. (Lord George Gordon/After The Revolution). Rare. Choice redish-
brown proof-like Unc. Ex: Baldwin, ‘78; Noble, #606.....000.0000 ccc cc cccceseescnccecceueceseveva:sceceeneeseersees $375
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S END OF PAIN 827. 1/2d. (Man Hanging/Pandora’s Breeches). Scarce. Die State
ll, with large rim break and cud. Choice DOWN UNC... cccccccecee cece enecccceeceeecaeecesececseesenesuneuecteaseseees $329
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S END OF PAIN 830a. 1/2d. (Man Hanging/Knave Legend). Scarce. Choice brown
PIN ccs oases ec gases egane ice eee ee iets te cas ere ie gett nlaecasy ech teens va ed sth sien secre Ren Go entre $179
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S END OF PAIN 831a. 1/2d. (Man Hanging/Knave Legend). Choice, red and brown
FUSTLOUS: WING. cee Oe ec hice crrcwaseas co acdnsaneedaynaiaspacanestneawenietsunnet Neoudpataceydsdentesaupaettaa tare cantiaaaeniaes $229
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S END OF PAIN 833.1/2d, 1793. (Man Hanging/Wrongs Of Man Book). Choice brown
PU ING Sty deste hs eine se ct ase ceed aaa he Shane gaenianemthens saysausova en ouneaendue tnageuminn eae eenes $189
MIDDLESEX, SPENCE’S END OF PAIN 834.1/2d, 1793. (Man Hanging/Wrongs Of Man Book). Rare. Choice
PIGOMNKS: TING. 5 WAC SS Ol SOC ac ois coc cwreacwseedven nein cevanscvdapandenacavosoedanncaduewxwatctdgasmsevatbacennmatiadeuansenheectent $299
MIDDLESEX, WILLIAM’S 915. 1/2d, 1795, Gem red proof-like Unc. Ex: Noble, #641.......0.....0...ccee $149
MIDDLESEX, LOYAL BRITON’S LODGE 1031. Scarce. Choice red Unc. Ex: Noble, #675................. $179
SUFFOLK, IRSWICH 12. 1d. James Conder’s private ipswich Penny. (Cardinal Woisey/ J. Conder’s Cypher). A
choice brown Unc. example, lacquered. Very Rare.......0...0. 00.0 ce ccc ec cccncceceeeecceceetaecetaepeeeeceeteeeeeeesees $299
REQUEST MY _UP-COMING LIST # 9, WITH MORE CHOICE SELECTIONS & NOBLE SALE LOTS!
5
66
New Issues Bureau
CONSULTANTS AND MINTERS TO GOVERNMENTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
THAMES HOUSE - WELLINGTON STREET - LONDON SE18 6NZ - UNITED KINGDOM
TEL: (44) 1689 812 222 - FAX: (44) 1689 812 223 - E-MAIL: newissuesbureau@compuserve.com
DEAR COLLECTOR
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN MY NAME IN THE NOBLE SALE CATALOGUE. IN 1984 HE
BOUGHT 382 TOKENS FROM MY COLLECTION (SEE CTCJ NO. 9) ACTUALLY 383,
BECAUSE THE SAWBRIDGEWORTH PENNY ALSO CAME FROM MY COLLECTION - I
BOUGHT IT IN THE JAN SALE FOR THE “CRAZY” PRICE OF ABOUT USS SS00!!! AT
THE NEW LEVEL YOU’VE GOT TO BE A SERIOUS COLLECTOR AND PM PLEASED
THAT SHARON AND JERRY HAVE NOW GOT IT IN THEIR COLLECTION. WELL
DONE!
I’M NOW BACK INTO CONDERS AND DESPERATELY TRYING TO BUY WHAT I CAN.
HOWEVER I SHALL NOT BE COLLECTING AGAIN SO EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE.
PLEASE WRITE, FAX OR E-MAIL YOUR NAME, ADDRESS ETC AND YOUR
COLLECTING INTERESTS.
I HAVE A SMALL (EVER CHANGING) STOCK OF CONDERS
SO ’'M UNLIKELY TO HAVE SPECIFIC D&H NUMBERS YOU
ARE LOOKING FOR, BUT IF YOU JUST LIKE CHOICE
TOKENS AT FAIR PRICES, TM HAPPY TO SEND YOU A
SELECTION ON APPROVAL, YOU CAN KEEP WHAT YOU
WANT AND SEND THE REST BACK. YOU DON’T HAVE TO
BUY ANY OF COURSE, BUT A MINIMUM PURCHASE OF $500
WOULD GUARANTEE A SECOND APPROVAL SHIPMENT!!!
I AM INTERESTED IN ALL BRITISH TOKENS -— NOT JUST
CONDERS. I AM VERY KEEN TO BUY INDIVIDUAL
RARITIES AND COMPLETE COLLECTIONS OF 177, 187! AND
19™! CENTURY BRITISH TOKENS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW
WHAT YOU HAVE.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE CONDER
TOKEN SOCIETY IN DUE COURSE!
HAPPY COLLECTING!
tie
PATRICK DEANE
The New Issues Bureau Ltd - Director Patrick Deane - Registered Office Thames House, Wellington St., London SE18 6NZ - Regd. no. 3590466
SALE 61 - Part B
MELBOURNE
TUESDAY 13th and 14th July 1999
THE W. J. NOBLE COLLECTION -
PART II
British 17th century tokens:
¢ a general collection by county and type including a silver proof, heart
shaped issues and the Isle of Man.
Nineteenth century unofficial farthings:
¢ the most comprehensive collection ever offered.
Numismatists private tokens:
e In different metals including dies and edge die collars of S. H. Hamer.
British tickets and passes:
¢ including a Charles II King's bedchamber pass in silver,
e the Eddystone Lighthouse pass in silver 1757,
e 17th - 19th century theatre and racing tickets including two in ivory used
by the Duke of Wellington,
¢ silver and bronze passes by Hogarth,
° Beggars badges etc.
World Tokens:
¢ mostly 19th and 20th centuries including comprehensive collections of
South Africa, South East Asia including proofs and British West Indies.
e Also general collections of Canada and USA.
A separate catalogue is being prepared that will be
extensively illustrated throughout.
In total over 6,000 pieces listed in 2,000 lots.
All subscribers will receive this catalogue.
Catalogues $30 each, ($35 posted), ($50 overseas).
Subscriptions for a 12 months period $100, $110 (N.Z.) $130 (overseas)
(all major credit cards accepted for payment of catalogues)
For further enquiries please contact
Noble Numismatics Pty Ltd
Level 7
350 Collins Street,
MELBOURNE VIC. 3000.
Ph: (03) 9600 0244
Fax: (03) 9600 0355
Ground Floor
229 Macquarie Street,
SYDNEY N.S.W. 2000.
Ph: (02) 9223 4578
Fax: (02) 9233 6009
G7
THE
New Issues Bureau
CONSULTANTS AND MINTERS TO GOVERNMENTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
THAMES HOUSE * WELLINGTON STREET » LONDON SE18 6NZ * UNITED KINGDOM
TEL: (44) 1689 812 222 * FAX: (44) 1689 812 223 » E-MAIL: newissuesbureau @ compuserve.com
'Y GOLD "CONDER"!!
I have just purchased a superb "Conder" token.
If you are a very serious collector,
you will HAVE to add it to your collection.
I bought it reasonably,
so I am prepared to sell it reasonably!
The coin has a tiny edge mark where someone
once tested to see if it was gold, but
you cannot see any problem "face on"
and in fact it does not affect the condition
of the coin which is mint state.
ANGUSSHIRE D.H.2 DUNDEE SHILLING
STRUCK IN GOLD - UNIQUE? US $7,500
In 36 years of dealing and collecting "Conders"
this is the first gold piece I have seen.
PATRICK DEANE
The New Issues Bureau Ltd « Director Patrick Deane
Registered Office Thames House, Wellington St., London SE18 6NZ « Regd. no. 3590466
68
Sere
“J Conder Penny 1795. DH 10 Penny, 1798
Reverse: View of Reverse: Presentation of colours to the
Wolsey Gate Birmingham Association 4 June 1798
WE STOCK
eee se
Suffolk, Ipswich Warwickshire, Birmingham
|
An interesting selection of high quality
18th century tokens for sale, and feature
a regular varied list in our monthly
bulletin, The Numismatic Circular
(ten issues per year, |
annual subscription US$00).
In addition, we frequently feature
tokens in our auction catalogues
(annual subscription US$70).
For further information please contact
ANTONY WILSON, DIRECTOR OF NUMISMATICS
SPINK
AMERICA
on 1-212-546-1056
British Pictures « Jewellery ¢ Oriental, Asian and Islamic Art ° Textiles + Medals * Coins « Bullion + Banknotes
|
5 KING STREET, ST JAMES’S, LONDON SWTY GQS.TEL: 0171-930 7888. FAX: 0171-839 4853. INTERNET: http://spinkandson.co.uk
SPINK AMERICA, 55 EAST 59TH STREET, 4TH FLOOR, NEW. YORK, NY10022.TEL: 212-546 1056. FAX: 21 2-750 5874
OUT NOW!
A major fixed price &
token sale catalog
(Also Greek, Roman and British coins)
Over 500 tokens from the Noble Sale, many illustrated
(For a first hand and candid description of the Noble sale, see my article, “Tokens, Tokens,
Tokens—Some recollections of a trip to Australia” in the last issue of the CTC.)
The catalog was mailed December 7.
If you did not receive this catalog, you are not on our current client list.
Write, FAX or email for your free copy of this sale and reference catalog, limited quantities available.
: moran ig
yore as oh a
a De he en
se eat ae!
Eee Sea ne
ae Bee
U3 An essential new token reference—coming in late January 1999:
Withers, Paul and Bente, British Copper Tokens, 1811-1820, The Tokens of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland including the
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. $135. (We will pay postage for all paid orders received by Jan 15, 1999).
e About 250 pages, printed on archival quality paper, hardbound
eIntroduction with an economic and social history of 19th century tokens, much of it taken from the columns of
contemporary newspapers
eSimple continuous numbering system
Each item is fully catalogued and illustrated including diameter, edge type, die axis, average weight and rarity
eFully indexed for legends, types, place names, issuers and edge types
* Bibliography
We are the North American source for this important new book. (We bought 250 copies.)
Our next fixed price catalog, due out next spring, will feature rare and high grade 19th century tokens from the Noble
Davi O
OE
Allan. & Marnie Davisson
Cold Spring, MN 56320-9623
Also: A.N.A., A.N.S., R.N.S., B.N.S., C.T.C.C. #6 320-685-3835 ¢ 24 hr FAX 320-685-8636
| email: DAVCOIN@AOL.COM
Researchers and publishers. of the updated 1990 and 1996 editions of Dalton & Hamer. (1996, $155 postpaid)
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